Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
Beekeeping improves rural incomes Vincent Hakizimana, Twitekunzuki Beekeeping Group Founder, Kigali, Rwanda Beekeeping can serve as an important means of income diversification, especially for residents of developing communities with limited income prospects. When properly managed, beekeeping has low input costs and large returns on investment. The activity is neither land nor time intensive, and it typically flourishes in tropical climates with diverse vegetation. The next step for many communities is to transform beekeeping into a prosperous business opportunity.
honey and other value-added bee products, for example beeswax candles and pure beeswax.
Impact of beekeeping Before 1994 little consideration was taken of the biodiversity within NNP. There were many illegal activities - bushfires, mining, poaching, snares and tree cutting - and beekeepers were often targeted as those damaging NNP.
Hives in use in Nyungwe National Park
Cooperatives and Unions
Local style
Successful agricultural value chains retain coordination amongst all key actors and build the capacity of producers at the micro-level. Surrounding Nyungwe National Park (NNP) in Rwanda, communities utilise the abundant natural cooperatives to sell their harvests of
Top-bar
268
Frame
175
Total
Good quality beeswax harvested and processed from a training session with the cooperatives
3,018
3,461
Table 1: The type and number of bee hives recorded in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
resources and the flow of tourism for livelihoods. Located in the southwestern region, NNP attracts both residential and international visitors. Beekeeping has been practised for generations, however, only recently have beekeepers organised into cooperatives and unions to allow themselves and the park to prosper. Established in 2010, the Ubwiza bwa Nyungwe Beekeeper Union (UBNBU) is a partnership of 15 beekeeping cooperatives located in the buffer zone around NNP. The Union offers a variety of services to its members, while also acting as a sales channel for
Image © Vincent Hakizimana
Image © Vincent Hakizimana
Since 1994 beekeeping methods have changed with beekeepers organised into associations and cooperatives seen to undertake beekeeping professionally as a revenue generating activity. Beekeepers receive training on techniques, equipment and hives and infrastructures to build on their skills from their parents’ heritage. The Union is using top-bar hives in addition to local style and frame hives.
8
Beekeepers are involved in Nyungwe National Park management
