Back by popular demand. Our next training day will take place on 24th April 2019 at Fell Edge Farm, Ilkley, Yorkshire. Please come along and join us.
A Beekeeping Course for the Murambo Beekeepers
A Beekeeping Course for the Murambo Beekeepers Catherine Ridler October 2018
The four-day residential course was run by Daniel Ngangasi and Simon Byongo from LIDEFO (Liberty Development Foundation) in Kasese some 220km from the homes of the Murambo beekeepers. It was part of an ongoing development project for them. Bees Abroad have built up a close relationship with Daniel and Simon and they provided an outline of what the course should contain. Daniel and Simon produced the course programme and taught a great course which included classroom and practical beekeeping sessions. It was the first such course run by LIDEFO.
Bees Abroad paid the course fees, accommodation, food and travel for the attendees. This was effective in removing barriers for people so they were able to attend the course and resulted in a really enthusiastic group.
The group consisted of four pairs of attendees from small local beekeeping groups in the Murambo district plus two individuals representing other groups and the district coordinator, Ezra Sigirenda. The aim was for them to take the knowledge acquired on this course and disseminate it amongst the other beekeepers in their local area. They were a keen group – we started the morning session 10 minutes ahead of schedule every day! They were very focused on learning and all took copious notes and photographs.
The attendees arrived on the Monday evening on the local bus after a full day’s travel. Well cooked local food was provided by the hotel. Notepads and pens were provided to all of the attendees and their first task was to write an introduction to themselves and their beekeeping experience to be presented the next morning.
The course started with breakfast on Tuesday and moved directly on to the individual presentations. About half of the attendees were from beekeeping families. Many were using traditional basket hives, with some using Kenyan Top Bar Hives. They wanted to learn how to increase their honey production by adding more hives, managing their bees better and dealing with diseases.
Daniel spent the sessions teaching about beekeeping, such as differences between the queen, workers and drones while integrating the business information such as the amount of space needed to create an apiary and how much honey and therefore money could result from a fairly small area.
The final session of the afternoon was a small group discussion of the questions ‘what has fuelled the development of beekeeping in your community?’ and ‘how will you make changes that will promote beekeeping as a business?’
The practical element of the course was taught by Simon. This included how to filter honey, how to melt the wax and an introduction to Kenyan Top Bar Hives.
There was a group apiary visit and a visit to LIDEFO’s honey storage and bottling room and some hands-on bottling practice.
I hope that this course has encouraged the attendees to take both small steps such as clearing vegetation around their apiaries and larger steps such as starting to set up beekeeping co-operative groups in their areas with a view towards producing commercially saleable honey.
Success at BBKA National Honey Show
Bees Abroad Projects Win 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prizes in New Charity Class at National Honey Show
Bees Abroad are world leaders in the practical relief of poverty through beekeeping. As soon as we knew the National Honey Show was to have a new class for charities working with beekeepers we realised we could showcase the gorgeous honey produced by the beekeepers we are working with overseas. Honey from twelve projects entered for judging at the UK National Honey Show in October 2018. The winning entry was from Liberia, where we partnered with the Universal Outreach Foundation which trains communities as beekeepers “so more Liberians can have the dignity that comes with being able to provide for their families’ needs.” The 2nd prize was awarded to our entry from Kenya. This UK government funded project given an A+ evaluation by the UK assessors benefits over 1200 households. The 3rd prize was won by the entry from our local project delivery partner in Western Uganda the Liberty Development Foundation. The lead judge explained that the criteria used were aroma, taste and viscosity; he was delighted that there were so many excellent entries. Richard Ridler, Bees Abroad Chairman, said ‘these wins are a huge endorsement for the very practical help our volunteers give to people in low-income communities around the world to learn hands-on beekeeping, high-quality honey production and business skills to generate income and improve their lives’. Bees Abroad are world leaders in the practical relief of poverty through beekeeping.
Creating a new livelihood in West Ghana
The Bia Biosphere Reserve in west Ghana covers some 7,770 hectares and is where the country’s major forest animals are found including the forest elephant and the endangered bongo. It’s been closed to people to preserve one of the few remaining areas of precious virgin forest. This has forced local the community who depended on the forest to find new ways to make a living. Those selected include growing palm oil and mushrooms, snail farming and beekeeping.
Learn more about the Bia Biosphere project here
Kenya Celebrates World Bee Day
Kenyan partner wins First Prize
News from the National Show held in Nanyuki Town, Kenya. Congratulations go to Joseph Gitonga and the team on this very well-deserved prize. The show promoted innovation and technology in agriculture and trade. The Bees Abroad project related well across the themes of pollination, food security and income achieving a very successful result.
Workshop: Beekeeping Projects in Africa 27-10-18
Booking is now open for the National Honey Show’s Workshop – Beekeeping Projects in Africa. This is for those considering, or already involved, in projects which use beekeeping to help people help themselves out of poverty. It will offer practical advice based on case studies on all aspects of African Beekeeping.
There are only 20 places, to book visit: Workshop: Beekeeping Projects in Africa
Roy Dyche visits Zambia
Our latest news from Zambia
London to Paris Bike Ride
Enablon, a Wolters Kluwer business, is the world’s leading provider of Sustainability, EH&S and Operational Risk Management Software. A big thank you to seven Enablonians and their Road Crew who will ride 1-3 June 2018 before the start of the 2018 SPF EMEA conference. In 3 days they will cycle almost 330 km starting in London and ending at the Enablon office in Paris. Please sponsor this terrific team at Virgin Money Giving
Happy Bee-day
World Bee Day is supported by all UN Member States and the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations. It takes place on 20th May each year and it highlights how the beekeeping sector helps poverty alleviation, preserving a healthy environment and its biodiversity.
To celebrate we have created some gift cards100% of the proceeds from this card will be used to support beekeeper-to-beekeeper training to alleviate poverty. £5 for a pack of 4 cards. Available on-line from our shop.