Work completed up to May 1907
The initial clearing work was carried out using local methods: trees were felled at their base and burned on site, leaving the stumps in the ground. During this period, the foundations for the manager’s house and the sisters’ house were laid.

Work from May 1907 to January 1908
1. Division into lots and road construction
Five-metre-wide roads were laid out to delimit regular plots of eighteen hectares (300 x 600 metres). This work, although essential, proved costly and difficult due to the onset of the rainy season and the lack of skilled labour. These constraints persisted until September, limiting development to the roads and divisions strictly necessary for the 1907 campaign.
Work resumed under better conditions and should be completed on an area of four hundred hectares, with a road network totalling more than forty kilometres. One hundred and forty hectares are now served by these roads, and each plot is fenced with barbed wire.

2. Equipment and tools
The available tools proved insufficient to operate a concession of this size. Ploughs, which were unavailable in the region, had to be manufactured on site. These tools, as well as others acquired or designed as needed, proved satisfactory.

3. Use of steam ploughs
A steam plough has been installed to clear areas covered with thick roots and tranh. This equipment works efficiently and has the advantage of using fuel that is available on site. It is also used to remove stumps left in the ground.

4. Ploughing and transport animals
A herd of about 150 oxen currently provides ploughing and transport services. This number, which is now insufficient, will soon be doubled.

5. Local labour force
Local workers are proving to be very well suited to clearing land in this region. Recruiting them in large numbers took time and required sending emissaries to the villages. Today, this issue has been resolved: workers are arriving in sufficient numbers, and some are beginning to settle permanently. Seventy families have already requested annual contracts and will settle in the area. Their numbers are expected to increase significantly next year.

6. Chinese labour
Faced with initial difficulties, it was necessary to resort to foreign workers. After unsuccessful attempts, the intervention of Mr Cazeau, one of our administrators, made it possible to hire Chinese coolies. Their acclimatisation has been difficult and has resulted in medical expenses since their arrival. Despite these drawbacks, their recruitment remains justified: they filled the labour shortage at a critical time and are now employed under acceptable conditions.