News

FRIENDS OF THE SMALL GRANTS PROGRAMME

The Friends of the Earth Small Grants Programme offers seed and emergency funds to grassroot environmental and sustainable development groups in developing countries.

The Small Grants Programme (SGP) primarily funds efforts to combat tropical deforestation and restore denuded areas. However, the SGP has also supported projects which provided appropriate skills to women farmers, multilingual environmental newsletters to educated and non-education readerships, and legal assistance to communities suffering from industrial pollution. A special focus of the SGP is protection of indigenous peoples and the ecosystems in which they live.

The range of funding provided by the Friends of the Earth Small Grants Programme is $US500-5000. Interested groups should provide project proposal, j| budget and covering letter describing the specific grant amount. Project proposals should be two to three pages in length and must include brief statement regarding the background of your organisation, a description of past activities and a clear explanation of the objectives of the project to be funded.

These materials should be submitted to: Friends of the Earth, Washington, USA

SOUTH AFRICA

In South Africa we have two races of honey bee, Apis mellifera scutellata and Apis mellifera capensis. Apis mellifera scutellata is the source of the Africanized bees of the Americas and is renowned for its highly defensive nature, tendency to swarm and productivity. All but one of the African honey bee queens introduced into South America in the 1950s came from the Pretoria region. The range of Apis mellifera scutellata stretches from the southern coastal plain of the Cape to the Sahara. The southern coastal plain is the domain of Apis mellifera capensis, more docile bee seemingly specifically adapted to this winter rainfall region with its almost Mediterranean climate. This race has been extensively researched, primarily because it is the only race of bee in which eggs of laying worker bees develop into worker brood and not drone brood.

Our contact with the rest of southern Africa is not what we would like it to be, both as result of the isolation of South Africa and because the organised beekeeping community of South Africa has been insufficiently concerned with rural development and subsistence beekeeping. This situation is expected to change with the political climate. Apicultural research requirements are under review also. We have had number of requests for information and expertise from beekeepers in neighbouring countries in the past year, as well as from rural areas in South Africa, and we hope to be able to help in any way possible. South Africa has the infra-structure and beekeeping knowledge to be of benefit to all beekeeping communities in southern Africa, particularly with respect to research matters, and it is hoped that some structure can be established to facilitate co-operation and information dissemination in southern Africa.

Source: Mike Allsopp, Apicultural Unit, PPRI

TANZANIA

Tabora Beekeepers’ Co-operative Society Last year we exported 69 tonnes of honey to the UK and 20.4 tonnes to The Netherlands. To execute these orders we had to squeeze ourselves so much that our Co-operative members were forced to wait for their money until our customers made their final payments. This is due to lack of working capital for the purchase of produce. It has been very difficult for us to secure an overdraft facility from our bankers despite our endeavours to generate hard currency which is much needed by our country. We wonder why nobody seems to understand us and encourage our hard-working beekeepers.

Our honey has been certified organic by the Soil Association Inspector (UK) and we this will attract many importers to order honey and beeswax from our Co-operative. This gives us chance to increase production in order to cope with the demand.

We have been very lucky that we still have faithful members who are willing to wait for their money. However as we are competing with other traders we have to pay some of our members on receipt of their honey and beeswax otherwise we will loose them.

Source: Tabora Beekeepers’ , Co-operative Society, Tabora.

UGANDA

On 14 July the Uganda Beekeepers’ Association held a one-day Beekeeping Seminar at The International Conference Centre in Kampala. Both the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Industry, and the Deputy Minister of Commerce attended. The Seminar attracted about 200 participants.

Copies of the papers presented are being sold at 500 shillings (£0.25) to raise funds for the Association.

Contact: UBKA, The Secretariat, Kampala.

ZIMBABWE

Kupfuma Ishungu, is Beekeepers’ Co-operative in north-eastern Zimbabwe. “Kupfuma Ishungu” means “success through hard work”. The Co-operative started in 1987 with a single line of activity - knitting jerseys and tailoring uniforms for five schools in its vicinity.

“We decided to diversify our projects and embarked on a beekeeping venture in order to actively involve our men (who could not knit) into the Co-operative’, says Thandiwe Mutekairi, the Co-operative’s Vice- Secretary. Comprised of 10 women and two men, the Co-operative started beekeeping after obtaining 500 Zimbabwe dollars ($US100) from a local Zimbabwe women's bureau.

In May 1989, Seeven Sobobrayen a UN Volunteer, arrived to make the Co-operative’s beehives hum. “Our venture is now thriving and we owe it to Sobobrayen who gave us great assistance, not a just as teacher but as facilitator’, said Letwin Mutekairi, a Co-operative Member.

The group has established 10 colonies of bees and hopes to reach its target of 20 by the end of the year.

“Despite the drought that has affected flowers, we are harvesting a lot of honey. In May we harvested more than 200 kg and earned about 800 Zimbabwe dollars” said Mutekairi,

Source: Tanzanian Business Times

It is with sadness that we report the deaths of two women who in different ways generously assisted the beekeeping world.

Inge Allen

Inge Allen will be remembered by beekeepers throughout the world as the kind-hearted german lady who worked at IBRA for many years. Between 1966 and 1986 IBRA was based at Hill House near London. For the whole of this period Inge Allen worked for IBRA, taking her retirement when Association moved to Cardiff in 1986. Inge maintained IBRA’s Library Hill House and seemed able to instantly put her finger on any publication requested. A beekeeper herself, Inge took great interest in the subject, had a tremendous store of knowledge, and enjoyed her work. She also took care of much else at IBRA, answered telephone enquiries and generally maintained the happy and friendly atmosphere enjoyed by both staff and visitors,

Dorothy Galton

Dorothy Galton was lady with strong socialist views and great interest in Russia: her career was in Slavonic Studies at the University of London. She was also beekeeper. She combined these interests, researching the history of beekeeping in Russia, providing IBRA with translations and writing a number of books. One of these postulated widespread “civilisation of the bee” helping to form the languages of Eurasia from 10,000 BC or earlier. Dorothy Galton took great interest in Beekeeping & Development and supported our work (see her letter in our last edition). indeed beekeepers in Tanzania named an apiary in her honour after she provided them with some assistance after reading of their problems. Dorothy Galton was 90 years of age when she died - earlier this year the BBC made a television programme about her it will be broadcast in 1993.