Bees/or Development Journal 81
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BEEKEEPING IN CABINDA
BEEKEEPING IN THE ENCLAVE OF CABINDA, ANGOLA increase household wealth for a large number of families in Cabinda Province.
Beekeeping had not been known in Cabinda prior to the project although honey hunting is prevalent. spent time with the honey hunters and documented their craft as they are the main beneficiaries of the |
beekeeping initiative. The project was the brainchild of David Benafel, the Chief of Party for the CADA Project, and Paulino Poba, the CADA Training and Extension Officer. We worked particularly with honey
hunter, Eduardo Ngoma, who has plied his craft for 30 years in Congo Brazzaville, Cabinda and DR Congo. Mr Ngoma was eager to become a beekeeper and received two hives.
A market survey in Cabinda city found that most honey in shops is imported from Greece and Portugal. Local honey is sold on the streets
DR CONG
and is comparable in price to the professionally-packaged, importec products in the shops, selling for approximately US$15/kg. The lace product is poorly processed and bottled in recycled wine bottles.
CAB NDA (ANGOLA)
ANGOLA
Consumption in Cabinda city alone is 3-4 tonnes a year, leaving great scope for building a small beekeeping industry.
NAMIBIA
AFRICA
Local consumers indicated that they prefer local honey to that imported informally from Congo Brazzaville and DR Congo, as this honey is said to be watered down and impure. One of the interesting reasons why honey is consumed in Cabinda is the folkloric belief that it protects the
SOUT AFRICA
Cabinda Province in the north-west of Angola is a separate enclave from the rest of Angola, located above the Congo River. It has three main
agro-climatic regions. a dense tropical forest at high altitudes, the central region - savanna interspersed with small forested areas, and the southern region and coast, which is savanna with scrub cover and sandy soils. Both the north and the centre have occasional problems with security as a result of activity by rebels seeking independence for Cabinda.
History The Portuguese colonised Cabinda in 1885, more than 300 years after the rest of Angola. The Treaty of Simulambaco in 1885 recognised Cabinda's special status as a semi-autonomous state. It was not until 1956 that the two Portuguese colonies were joined together, but without negotiating with Cabinda. Rebellions began immediately and in 1974 the collapse of the Portuguese Fascist Government necessitated the release of colonial holdings. In 1977 the Liberation Front of the Cabinda
consumer against poisoning.
Project activities The CADA Project had imported expensive frame hives, beekeeping tools and protective clothing from Brazil, in anticipation of my arrival. The sustainability of this equipment did not factor into the equation and was a great problem, and we began to make equipment fram local resources at a fraction of the cost. |
introduced straight-sided top-bar hives, as these have worked well for
me in trials in Ghana and Lesotho. Cabinda lies within the greater Cr-~Tropical Forest area and consequently there are many choices for gc
hardwoods from which to make hives. We used Cloraphora excelsa (Kambala) and 7erminalia superba (Limba) for the top-bars and hive bodies respectively. The majority of the project beneficiaries were good
carpenters and the first 25 hives were made in two days. have noticed the lack of any kind of treatment to the wood used for hive bodies in various projects in Africa. This is probably due to the high cost of paint. advocate a very simple method of dipping in hot, used |
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Enclave (FLEC) announced a provisional government of the Republic of Cabinda. At the heart of the matter is oil, for Cabindan oil provides Angola with about half of its foreign exchange earnings. Although greatly
motor oil, which is effective and cheap, without any refusal by the bees. This is a well known method for treating commercial hives in South Africa.
decreased in recent years, sporadic guerrilla warfare still takes place in the far north of the country, however recent peace negotiations are lessening this.
CABGOC has a seemingly infinite supply of good pine and ply-wood crating that is given to the local oil workers to re-sell in the market. A request has been made to obtain this material to make hive bodies and sturdy trap boxes, which will further bring the cost of the project down, making it more replicable and sustainable. A smoker was made by a local tin-smith, in conjunction with an upholsterer, at a fraction of the
Project purpose was invited by the Cabinda Gulf Oi! Company (CABGOC) through ACDI/VOCA's Cabinda Agribusiness Development Alliance (CADA) in January-February 2006, and returned in July to follow-up. The purpose of the CADA Project is to leverage private-sector and US donor funds, |
together with ACDIVOCA's agribusiness development expertise, to
cost of the Brazilian smoker. Veils were made from straw hats with mosquito netting. Catcher boxes were constructed from throw-away cartons and plastic sheeting, baited with wax from our honey hunting excursions, as well as locally grown lemon grass.
