Bees for Development Journal 123 July 2017
News
€3,500) from the 1% for Development Fund, Geneva (Switzerland) for construction of a Beekeeping Resource Centre.
KENYA
The Centre will be based in Zamfarawa at Hayin Gada Village, Shika. The establishment of the Centre will enable 4,000 people to benefit from free access to beekeeping equipment, information and training and a honey production demonstration farm. Beneficiaries will include children, women and young people from local community projects: students of the Faculty of Agriculture and College of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University, the Institute of Agricultural Research, Kaduna State Agricultural Development Project, and a host of others.
Training for beginners Evergreen Plains Farm is an oasis of lemongrass, papaya and Moringa trees thriving on the otherwise dry black cotton Kano plains, a 45-minute drive from Kisumu City. The three-day course was held in December with seven participants from neighbouring communities Nakuru and Nairobi. The first day began with an introduction to the global history of bees and beekeeping followed by Kenya’s beekeeping history.
We are seeking your support to provide resources and literature to be kept at the Centre.
A much-appreciated tasting of stingless bee honey, a bee venom and honey mix and a honey/propolis mix preceded the afternoon practical session making a selection of value added products including a coconut and beeswax body butter, lip balm, beeswax candles and a fantastic honey cerate (balm) following guidance from Dr Sara Robb’s articles in BfD Journals.
Idris Muhammad Barau, Project Director A Bees for Development Resource Box is on its way to the Centre
NIGERIA Photos © Jorafarm
Day 2 covered honey and beeswax processing, apiary and colony management and honey bee pests and diseases. The practical session was preparing and baiting four new hives, putting together the new extractor machine and cleaning a recently absconded hive infested with wax moth. That evening saw a further practical session in the farm apiary where the group put on four honey supers and cleaned out another hive that had a small infestation of wax moth - unfortunately due to the timing of the main flowering season there was not a drop of honeycomb in sight. On Day 3 the group made a beeswax based perfume using flower essence before the course closed with a question and answer session and several short BBC documentaries.
Participants of a recent Jorafarm seminar One of our regular activities is organising free workshops for young people to learn practical beekeeping. We distribute resource materials donated by Bees for Development. During this year’s honey harvest we discovered that almost all the honey was already crystallised. We were surprised at this but upon completing a survey among other beekeepers in the area we heard that the situation was the same across the whole of the south-western Nigeria. A challenge we face is convincing our customers that our honey is pure and not adulterated. Many consumers in Nigeria are not aware that honey granulates. Therefore we are working on an awareness campaign to educate consumers about this important fact to gain their confidence and ensure regular sales. We noticed also that a heatwave across the country had led to the stream that runs close to our apiary being totally dried up. Are these events because of climate change? We are planning to set up a Beekeeping Centre in Akiriboto village in Gbongan with the aim of training young people and women in beekeeping. We chose this venue to get closer to our target audience in rural areas and we are seeking support for the Centre. We really appreciate the support of Bees for Development.
Jess de Boer, EverGreen Plains Farm
KENYA Thank you for sending me the BfD Beekeeping and Development Guides 1-4*. While visiting a friend, 400 km from my locality, I interacted with a group of beekeepers at a rural village in Uasingishu County, Eldoret. Though I am not yet an expert in beekeeping, I realised they were not using the right methods. I shared the knowledge I have acquired from BfD Journal and I was elated when the group became enthusiastic and would have liked me to stay longer to tell them more. I promised them I would look at facilitating some beekeeping resources and Bees for Development has agreed to provide a sponsored Resource Box which will be of great help to them. Thank you. Kariuki Waweru, Ntashart Eco Green *See page 20 or our website for how to apply for Resource Boxes and the Beekeeping Enterprise Guides
NIGERIA The Beekeeping Extension Society in Kaduna State, Nigeria has received a grant of N2,068,900 (US$4,000;
Ayoade A Akande, Jorafarm and Associates 11
