Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Frame hives prove a bad investment Milan Wiercx van Rhijn, Project Manager, Bees for Development Ayele Wasihun is a young man raised in a village near Lalibela, Ethiopia. At the age of 16 he was conscripted into the army. After seven years, he returned to Lalibela to find a job. Unfortunately job opportunities for young men like Ayele are rare. Searching for an alternative, he had the idea to begin beekeeping and to establish a tree nursery. He created an association with 11 other friends with their aim to build sustainable livelihoods through beekeeping and horticulture. After much negotiation, writing a proposal and investing initial capital, they managed to secure a plot of land from the local government.
Beekeeping is an intrinsic part of Ethiopian culture, and the honey and beeswax derived by local beekeepers are highly valued, important sources of income. This is what Ayele and his friends had heard, and they decided to put their capital from savings, family, and personal loans together to buy ten frame hives and ten bee colonies. They were full of hope that this could give them some income in the near future. Frame hives are promoted by the local agricultural office. They are called ‘modern’, considered an ‘innovation’ and therefore ‘must be better’ than the ‘traditional’ hives that are most widely used in Ethiopia. Ayele and his friends paid the Lalibela Agricultural Office US$110 (€85) for each hive, a total of US$1,100 (€850) for ten hives, and US$300 (€254) for ten bee colonies. In total, they had invested over US$1,400 (€1,186). This for 12 unemployed young people, in
Images © Ayele Wasihun
We are a group of young people from Lalibela…. it has been very difficult for most of us to find a job and this was why we created this association
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