News

KENYA

RUAI BEEKEEPERS: COMMERCIAL SUCCESS

Ruai derives its name from the Kikuyu word for the whistling thorn, Acacia drepanalobium. The Ruai Beekeepers’ Co-operative was set up in 1977 by commercial rancher, Mr Fernandes and a few other enterprising individuals as local, community-based initiative.

In the early 1970s the Canadian Government (CIDA) was persuaded by the Kenya Ministry of Livestock to assist in the development of beekeeping extension. It was inted to provide both the advice and facilities though necessary for the modernisation and expansion of traditional apiculture in rural areas. The scheme set up numerous co-operatives, but Ruai is the only one still operating successfully. CIDA supplied material and financial assistance for Ruai members to build a small refinery and install essential equipment.

Ruai now has 800 members mostly operating log hives. Between 6 and 8 tonnes of honey and approximately 1.2 tonnes of wax are harvested annually. The bulk of these products derived locally and the remainder purchased from honey collection centres established elsewhere The Co-operative employs two individuals on full-time basis, consistently makes profit, and has turnover of up to USS5,150 per year.

Ruai is renowned for its high quality honey, saddle soap and furniture polish. Beekeeping field days are held frequently. Ruai has recently developed frame for the Kenya top-bar hive and this is attracting local interest. The Co-operative’s extraordinary success is largely due to the integrity and commitment of its founder members including Mr Fernandes who still provides free transport, has taught the employees book-keeping and banking skills, and helps with marketing.

Mark Luckhu

PROJECT NEWS

Baraka Beekeeping Project was initiated May 1994 by Baraka Agricultural College, Molo, Kenya, with the help of Voluntary Service Overseas and the Overseas Development Administration, UK. The Project aims to build on the College's already substantial commitment to the development of Kenyan beekeeping. The College has manufactured Kenya top-bar hives and other bee equipment since 1978 and has been training farmers, agriculture students and extension workers in modern beekeeping methods for many years.

Since the establishment of the Project honey and beeswax purchasing and refining facility as been has set up to assist farmers market their bee products, and also to improve training the processing and marketing of honey and beeswax An already existing beekeeping programme in Mau Forest with forest-dwelling ‘Ndorobo’ beekeepers has been intensified and expanded to include farming areas surrounding the College.

For information on either our short one-week courses beekeeping or our 18-month Certificate Course in agriculture please contact Baraka Agriculture College, Kenya.

Tom Carroll

TOBAGO

The Tobago Apicultural Society received funding from the Royal Netherlands Embassy to undertake improvement in the quality of honey marketing, the manufacture of beeswax foundation, a queen rearing programme, and education and training.

Before embarking on the programme we undertook survey of the industry to determine its status and needs. A 45 point questionnaire was distributed to active beekeepers in July 1994.

The results showed us that beekeepers were interested to.

- rent honey extracting and filtering equipment,

- market their honey under joint label:

- buy locally made beewax foundation and solar wax melters;

- contribute one of their best queens to a queen breeding programme;

- improve their queen rearing skills.

While we can support the local manufacture of frames, foundation, hive parts and beekeeping clothing, the development of large equipment-making subsector cannot be sustained because of limited market size. As such the Society has imported two six-frame electrical extractors and “Strainaway’” filters, which are being rented to beekeepers, and other beekeeping items not produced locally, for resale at small mark-up Solar wax melters are also being made for resale to the beekeeping community.

Subscriptions to Beekeeping Development and workshops and seminars are aspects of the Education and training component already introduced.

Gladstone Solomon, President of the Tobago Apicultural Society B and D's Correspondent in Tobago

Where there are bees there is life

It is almost ten years since people of this area of Masvingo, Southern Zimbabwe at community called Bondolfi Mission received adequate rain to support their lives. They used to grow food crops like beans, maize, pumpkins and sweet potatoes, and for cash crop they grew cotton. As time went on rainfall started to decline and stopped these means of livelihood. People became poorer because of the persistent drought. They had nothing to eat and sell. They survived on food handouts.

Beekeeping at Bondoifi started as a way to alleviate poverty. I was sitting on the veranda of my house near Bondolfi thinking hard what activity could help free families from poverty. A little girl came by, she was selling honeycombs. piece of 500g was Zim$2.00, equivalent to USSO.25. I asked her where she got the honeycombs. She told me that her father has hives in the forest and he collects honey from the forest. Yes, this activity can be our economic rescue.

I tried to find out about this man. He uses fire when harvesting, no proper protective clothing, he uses tree bark hives which destroy some of the best trees in the forest.

Traditionally women had nothing to do with bees. Perhaps because of the methods used in beekeeping. My assignment from Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau, local NGO which hosts me in Zimbabwe, is to promote social economic activities to women who are considered disadvantaged in our society. So one of the activities we identified and we think is sustainable, as it can be adopted by anybody, can enhance good environmental conservation, is economically viable and socially acceptable was beekeeping. We got information about a beekeeping course at the Permaculture institute in Harare. Course fees were ZimS$600 per participant for five days.

Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau responded promptly to the community's request to be sponsored to the workshop. Five people attended the workshop including myself so that I could spearhead the project in the community. It was very practical workshop and in those five days we managed to cover all the basic requirements of beekeeping.

Today we have total of 81 hives. Out of these 34 are Kenya top-bar hives, 14 dry log hives, one basket hive and 32 bark hives (made before the workshop). We discourage bark hives.

The majority of Kenya top-bar hives are owned by women, who were not involved in beekeeping before.

The dry log hive is the most interesting thing to me, because it is easy to find large dry tree with hollow space. You can measure about 100 cm along then cut, shape the cut ends, cover both sides, leave a small entrance for the bees. Before covering both sides make some grooves inside like the ones you put into Kenya top- bar hives. There you are with your hive. No money, no cutting down trees. Maybe you have stolen the shelter of lizards, snakes or scorpions. Well, they can find a new home under rocks!

We have now formed an association called Bondolfi Beekeepers.

With this Association we hope to improve not only the economic status of women and their families but improve the environment, and promote other creative activities like sewing of beekeepers’ protective clothes, and making hives by local carpenters. Craft makers can weave a straw hat as a helmet.

We conclude by saying “Where there are bees, there is life”.

Thomas Chale, United Nations Volunteer, Zimbabwe