Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Effects of Covid-19 in Kitui County, Kenya Alphonce Mumo Kasimu, Kitui, Kenya In eastern Kenya, beekeeping is an important part of the Kamba Community’s livelihoods. The Community is known worldwide for its wood carving. This process has been used to carve log hives designed to be extremely weather resistant. Unlike in the past when the Akamba people practised beekeeping for subsistence, the trend is now towards making beekeeping an economic activity to supplement livelihoods.
towns could not travel due to the restrictions. They could not continue buying honey from the beekeepers as it was not known when travel restrictions would end, and as small-scale buyers, they could not hold stocks for long. The few who were financially stable enough to continue buying did that, but at reduced prices, and only until May. With all public gatherings suspended, beekeepers working in groups, youth groups, women’s groups, associations and community-based organisations were in limbo. Major decisions taken at groups meetings did not happen and operations stagnated until late August when some meetings could resume.
Kitui County has over 5,000 beekeepers with 30,000 log hives. Some individuals and groups have started using frame hives and top-bar hives. The Covid-19 pandemic was first reported in Kenya on 12 March 2020. Within days infections were increasing and the government introduced measures to curb the spread. Schools were closed indefinitely, working remotely from home in some sectors and others closed, all public gatherings were banned, social distancing measures and cessation of travel were introduced.
When the travel restrictions to the villages were lifted in late July, things did not return to normal as expected, because of the poor financial situation of almost all those within the honey value chain. With social distancing on public transport, and the need for the transport operators to break even, saw fares almost double as public vehicles carrying capacity was halved to ensure social distancing. Many were stopped from going back to their usual way of operating.
Although these measures worked in preventing the spread of the disease, they spelt doom to village beekeepers as their main market is with urban dwellers across Kenya. Their supply route was immediately cut: middle men who bought their honey at the local markets and transported it to the bigger
Rural areas stigmatised those who travelled from the major towns, due to the belief that Covid-19 first came to the capital city, then to other towns, and finally to rural areas. In some cases, people from towns were openly avoided in the rural areas: this further hindered a recovery for the beekeeping sector. Training
Images © Alphonce Mumo Kasimu
Alphonce checks a log hive
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