Tropical-Forest Foragers - Economy

In the late twentieth century most forest foragers are specialized in extracting resources from the forest (e.g., game meat, honey, caterpillars) and thus are often nomadic. Some of these resources are traded to farmers for such foods as manioc, maize, and plantains and for iron implements, salt, tobacco, and clothes. In many areas of Central Africa, specific clans of forest foragers have traditional relations with specific clans of farmers, and these relationships are transmitted from one generation to the next, creating a complex web of economic and social exchange that leads to high levels of cooperation and support. Today most forest foragers live in association with farmers, but the nature and extent of the association varies substantially.

Among the Aka, Bofi, Bongo, and Kola, a type of cooperative net hunting is practiced, in which men, women, and children all participate; other groups utilize some combination of bows and arrows, spears, and snares.