Sustainable livelihoods

In September Bees for Development joined forces with the Centre for Development Studies, University of Wales Swansea to organise a unique International Symposium.

Over three days professionals from the fields of apiculture, development and rural sociology had an excellent opportunity to meet and debate. The Symposium was held at Sketty Hall, a Victorian mansion with its own fine grounds adjacent to the University. The Symposium was attended by 50 participants from 14 different countries.

The Symposium was convened to achieve the following objectives:

- To increase awareness amongst development professionals of beekeeping’s valuable role in creating livelihoods;

- To help those involved in beekeeping initiatives to become familiar with the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach and the opportunities it offers for better development initiatives.

POVERTY ELIMINATION

It is clear to everyone that efforts in recent decades to eliminate poverty have not succeeded. New ideas about how to eliminate poverty are emerging. The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and other agencies are revising their development strategies. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach is a new strategy for achieving poverty alleviation.

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AND BEEKEEPING

Speakers presented examples of beekeeping development initiatives underway. These were selected to show how the sustainable livelihoods perspective enables a better understanding of beekeeping as a livelihood activity. Viewed in this way beekeeping can be seen as an important aspect of people’s livelihoods, offering them worthwhile sources of income.

THE SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS APPROACH:

- Is a different way of thinking about priorities for development. It puts people at the centre of development. People — rather than the resources they use or the governments that serve them — are the priority concern.

- Builds upon people’s strengths rather than their needs.

- Brings all relevant aspects of people’ lives and livelihoods into development planning, implementation and evaluation.

- Takes into account how development decisions affect distinct groups of people (such as women compared with men) differently.

- Emphasises the importance of understanding the links between policy decisions and household level activities.

- Draws in relevant partners whether State, civil or private, local or national, regional or international.

- Responds quickly to changing circumstances.

BEEKEEPING USES AND CREATES RESOURCES

- Beekeeping makes use of natural resources and various human skills within a society.

- Beekeeping generates a variety of different sources: pollinated plants and the products of bees including honey and beeswax, as well as the secondary products that can be made from them.

- Beekeeping spans many different sectors. These include forestry, horticulture, agriculture, the natural environment, animal production and entomology.

- In terms of classification, honey is a food but beeswax is a non-food wax. Pollination is an important part of horticulture, yet beekeeping is often considered a form of animal production.

- Beekeepers themselves are variously categorised as farmers, hunters, livestock keepers, or rural dwellers, with beekeeping remaining hidden as a useful skill and part of their lives.

Perhaps for these reasons beekeeping is too often overlooked by planners, academic researchers and in applied projects.

THE BEEKEEPING PRESENTERS

- Nicola Bradbear of Bees for Development explained ‘How beekeeping fits well with the sustainable livelihoods approach’.

- Tilahun Gebey working with SOS Sahel in Ethiopia presented ‘Using beekeeping to achieve development in Ethiopia’.

- Liana Hassan, Director of Njiro Wildlife Research Centre in Tanzania explained ‘Testing different extension approaches with communities in Tanzania’.

- Ole Hertz from Denmark explained ‘The need for use of local knowledge in beekeeping projects’.

- Pratim Roy from The Keystone Foundation in India discussed ‘Helping tribal people by means of beekeeping’.

- Gladstone Solomon, B&D’s Representative in Tobago talked about ‘The opportunities for sustainable beekeeping in the Caribbean’.

- Börje Svensson from Sweden discussed ‘Income from beekeeping: some examples of expectations and experience’, and ‘Selecting the target group: a discussion around the gender issue of beekeeping development in Tanzania’.

- David Wainwright from the UK introduced ‘A success story from Zambia: North West Bee Products Ltd’.

THE DEVELOPMENT PRESENTERS

- Mary Ann Brocklesby and Jeremy Holland gave a ‘Facilitated introduction to the sustainable livelihoods approach’.

- Catherine Butcher presented ‘Extension revisited: what lessons can be learnt?’

- Ele Fisher discussed ‘Sustainable livelihoods, poverty and beekeeping: a changing agenda’.

- Helen Hintjens explained ‘Communicating ideas in development’.

- Janet Seeley (pictured right) talked on ‘Country level experiences of sustainable rural livelihoods’.

THIS INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM WAS SPONSORED BY THE DFID LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION PROGRAMME

The Technical Centre for Rural and Agricultural Cooperation (CTA) The Netherlands, and The British Academy provided sponsorship for participants from developing countries.

MORE INFORMATION

- Proceedings from the Symposium will be available shortly. See the next edition of B&D for more information.

- Find out more about Sustainable Livelihoods at the website www.livelihoods.org