Bees for Development Journal 100
NEWS AROUND THE WORLD CAMEROON
DR CONGO
PHOTOS © CEBAC
About 1,000 farmers are beekeeping in Oku. Honey is produced in great quantities and is good quality. Our apiaries are placed in areas with many bee trees and flowers. Two sorts of honey are harvested: white honey produced at altitudes of 2800-3011 m above sea level, and brown honey from the foot of Mount Kilum at altitudes below 2800 m.
PHOTOS © WONTSERDEV CIG
Before our workshop in February, we organised an outreach educational programme to 14 villages of Western Bakossi to introduce beekeeping as a profitable alternative to hunting and farming in the rainforest. The workshop helped our bee famers with information on good management, honey harvesting, use of beeswax and income generation, and its role in the conservation of virgin rainforest. All the workshop participants were happy with materials supplied by Bf D Trust and we will organise other workshops to educate bee farmers with the aid of the Bf D training modules. Participants in the beekeeping seminar organised by CEBAC-GIRDC held in Budjala in December 2010
Pasteur Sungu Abiangala, CEBAC, Budjala, DR Congo
KENYA
I started beekeeping in 1994 and have been determined to improve activities in the rural areas around my village. I needed to continue learning the latest information to apply it to our situation and realised that I must take courses and share my knowledge: the lack of correct information, unfounded beliefs, fear of the unknown and few resources can lead to bad decision making in the apiary. I would like to share my experiences and our achievements and setbacks in Kesogon Village. I heard an interview by the BfDJ Editor, on the BBC World Service Farming World programme and my desire to start beekeeping was sparked. I enquired about obtaining more information and was given contact details for Bf D. When I contacted them I was given a sponsored subscription to the Journal - which came in very handy for a beginner beekeeper in rural Kenya without professional extension assistance or material resources.
Honey bees in Oku produce two kinds of honey: brown and white
PHOTOS © PETER U OTENGO
Armed with information from BfDJ, I made my first top-bar hive from a discarded plastic water jerry can. This was an instant success - even before I could hang it in the apiary the bees started to use it as a hive. From there on we have been using and improvising with what is at hand to make homes for bees, who in turn pay back with the best products.
Oku valleys are covered in raffia used for making hives
We make local-style hives from grasses and raffia palm and they cost little or nothing to produce. This means that many people can become involved. Top-bar hives are gradually being introduced, and production of these hives will also be cheap.
Chiateh Kingkoh Godlove, WONTSERDEV CIG, Oku, Cameroon
Jerry can top-bar hive
Jerry can hive with top-bars. This was my first experience with bees and hives and the logic was simple. I cut one side of the can and made 12
