News

CAMEROON

Bee House opens

The first ever Bee House (indoor apiary) in Cameroon went operational in March at Bonakanda Village. The Bee House was promoted by BOBEEFAG, a Common Initiative Group with the primary aim of producing high quality honey, beeswax and propolis to meet the ever-increasing demand for these products.

Since its creation in 1998, BOBEEFAG has assisted forest honey hunters with training on how to continue their traditional occupation using methods that avoid decimating the bee population and forest by use of fire. BOBEEFAG has given itself the challenge of alleviating poverty within Mount Cameroon Region by improving on the traditional use of honey and its products for food and medicines.

In his welcome address Mr Lyonga Mbake Samuel, BOBEEFAG Delegate, said that with better methods of honey production they will preserve biodiversity and conserve the environment. Mr Lyonga went on fo say that the Bee House will serve as a demonstration and research centre, as well as a training centre.

Before the Opening Ceremony, there was an exhibition of both local and didactic materials, including BfDJ in a display of BOBEEFAG's Information Service. Mr Lyonga explained that they started out using the ‘National Cavity’ or log hive and now use top-bar hives. Amongst the guest speakers at the Ceremony were the Co-ordinator of Mount Cameroon Project (MCP), and also Dr Elad from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ Buea) who spoke about the importance of honey and its products. Mr Dalman, local representative of the Netherlands Management Cooperation Programme was extremely interested in the exhibition and the production of honey, beeswax, propolis and honey wine.

With very little support BOBEEFAG has created history in Cameroon as a whole, and in Mount Cameroon Region in particular (for over 10 years, MCP/GTZ have spent a good sum of money without positive results). Hopefully, other groups will copy BOBEEFAG. After the exhibition, there was a short walk ° the Bee House where Dr Elad declared the new venture officially open.

Lyonga Mbake Samuel, BOBEEFAG

GUATEMALA

Swords into ploughshares

A few years ago, Eucebio Figueroa, President of Nuevo Horizonte Cooperative in the northern department of El Petén, was the leader of armed rebels. The Co-operative was founded in 1998 by veterans of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, who fought in Guatemala's 36- year-long civil war. The former leftist guerrillas who run the 900-hectare farm are working with the Inter-American Development Bank to improve their business management. More than 400 people live in the community, which has its own day care centre, kindergarten . and elementary school. The main activities carried out are planting staple crops - corn and beans - and growing Caribbean pines as part of a reforestation programme. Other businesses include growing decorative palm trees known as xate, baking bread, and... keeping honeybees.

KENYA

| was working in Uganda as a VSO Volunteer and received BfDJ through the organisation | was attached to. This support was useful and hence when | moved to head a similar organisation in Kenya | felt it should also benefit from your information. We are happy that you are supporting our programmes in East

Africa. The sponsorship will go a long way in ensuring that information on beekeeping is well shared with needy community projects. We recently carried out a survey on the potential for honey in Marigat Division in Baringo, with the aim of assisting farmers develop their incomes from quality honey. We found out that honey production is high in the area, and if well harnessed some export of this commodity could be achieved. We are planning two training courses, each of three days, on beekeeping and ecotourism. We wish to receive Bees for Development Trust workshop information and to contact other supporters. Breta Kanyua Niagi, Programme Officer

SOUTH AFRICA

While much of this year's World Environment Day on 5 June was spent discussing the fate of the oceans, something altogether smaller was receiving attention in South Africa: the honeybee. "Our people used to smoke bees and this resulted in the burning of forests. That is one of the reasons why the African indigenous honeybee is threatened with extinction. Our task now is to conserve this bee", Rejoice Mabudathasi, Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, told Inter Press Service.

Honey production and the role bees play in pollinating the crops that supply fruit for South Africa's large fruit industry has ensured that the insects have economic as well as environmental value. The bee industry is currently thought to be worth iost US$466 million, according to various sources. As a result, efforts are underway to give people who fear bees a sense of their importance. "We tell the communities, Don't burn the bees. Don't torch them. Stop forest fire in the plantations. Look after the bees", says Jean-Marie Jullienne, Chief Executive Officer of the Bee Foundation, a private company based in Pretoria that will be working with the Government to train new beekeepers. "Honeybees have a very short lifespan: this is why we need to educate the community to look after them".

As part of its efforts to alert South Africans to the value of bees, the Bee Foundation plans to help 100,000 people in rural areas set up their own beekeeping businesses over a three-year period. It will sell hives, each containing bee colony, at the special rate of US$62 each; the market price for the hives is US$93-124. No special skills are needed to manage the hives. When the honey is ready for harvesting, staff from the Bee Foundation will collect it - paying farmers just over US$1.2 for every kilogram of honey. As each hive is expected to yield at least 20 kg of honey every year, the farmers can look forward to a gross annual income of about US$2,500. After repaying the loans taken out to buy the hives, the farmers will have a net monthly income of US$155 - no small amount in a country where most of the population is impoverished.

South Africa currently has up to 10,000 beekeepers, but there is room for an additional 10,000 according to industry analysts. "We produce only 2,000 tonnes of honey per year. And we consume 3,000 tonnes", says Julliene. "To fill the gap we import 1,000 tonnes every year from China and Australia’. Mabudafhasi believes that alerting people to the value of bees will put an end to the destructive practice of smoking them out. Bee farming has the advantage of being less capital-intensive than other agricultural activities, as it does not require large tracts of land, seed, fertiliser, or expensive machinery to till the soil and harvest crops. In addition honey production is not dependent on weather conditions.

Source: Inter Press Service

(Johannesburg), 4 June 2004

ZAMBIA

Fair Trade Honey

North Western Bee Products has earned German Fair Trade Certification for its honey. General Manager Bob Malichi said that the company has been growing at a fast rate, especially in the past three years, which he attributed to the commitment of workers and out-grower beekeepers. He said that last year alone the company had a bumper harvest and exported 144 tonnes of honey to Germany and the UK.

Malichi said there was tremendous demand for organic honey in the UK and Germany and added that the company's honey was organic and was fairly traded, hence the German certification. He explained the certification was one of the highest ratings on the world market for bee products. "Our only threat is China which produces massive quantities of honey". Malichi said that North Western Bee Products was the second largest employer in the Province after the government. The company had 6,472 registered beekeepers and had contributed enormously to poverty reduction within its catchment area covering Mwinilunga, Kabompo, Mufumbwe, Solwezi and Kasempa districts.

Honey costs US$2,000 per tonne while beeswax costs US$3,900 per tonne. Malichi said that their target was to produce 54 tonnes of honey this season. He added that the company was now refocusing and looking at the plight of women by encouraging their involvement in beekeeping. Source: The Post (Lusaka), 7 June 2004

North Western Bee Products are collaborating with Bees for Development on an exciting project: see page 3

ETHIOPIA

Demelash Zewdie (right) sent in this picture of the farmers’ training course that took

place at the Ministry of Agriculture Office in Nole Kaba District in April. He writes

“Due to your support I have progressed from reader of your publication to trainer in bee science".