Beekeeping project makes a difference

They contributed $20 each as joining fee and another $20 as the monthly subscription and deposited the money into a bank account. With $400, they formed the Mutare Divine Collective Cooperative Society and set up some bee hives at Tilbury in Chimanmani.

The group now has a sustainable livelihood from selling processed honey and related products. It works closely with the Climate Smart Trust, the Forestry Commission and the Environment Management Agency.

Fast-growing

In an interview with The Zimbabwean recently, the chairperson of the group, Memory Chirara, said they decided to form the group as a way of sustaining their livelihoods and empowering themselves.

“Beekeeping is a fast-growing business in Zimbabwe. We also want to support Zim-Asset by playing a role in embracing government policies to boost agricultural activities,” she said.

According to government, Zim-Asset will be largely propelled by the judicious exploitation of the country’s abundant human and natural resources.

Agritex provided beekeeping training and woodland management training to help the group run the project sustainably. The result – Divine Pure Honey – is now available in many shops in Mutare and other cities.

“It is profitable, and the most interesting thing is that we have a ready market and it costs relatively little to start and operate the business. It also helps to maintain the environment, which is important since it is in our interest to ensure trees and foraging areas are kept intact,” said Chirara

“We have also managed to create employment for members of the community who make the bee hives. This has indeed changed the lives of many,” she added.

Expansion

“There is a lot of room for expansion. Right now we want to appeal to funders to assist us with some finances so that we can buy more beehives. We also want to improve our packaging and export the honey to Malaysia,” she said.

The group has set its sights on setting up more bee hives in Vumba, Sheba and Nyanyadzi. “So we need funds to establish similar projects in those areas. Our honey is in demand, but we are now facing a problem of beehive shortages. We also need more machines to process and package the honey,” Chirara added.

Willet Mtisi, a member of the group, said they were looking forward to the expansion of the project.

“We want to have a honey-processing plant so that we produce more honey. This will also create more jobs. We are also looking forward to exporting our honey,” Mtisi said.

The group also sells by-products like wax, which some families use to make candles and soap, creating an income for them too.

Global showcase

Last month, Mtisi represented the group at 4th All-Africa International Honey Exposition, ApiExpo Africa 2014, in Harare.

ApiTrade Africa, a regional not-for-profit organisation that champions the promotion of African honey and other bee products internationally, together with Beekeepers’ Association of Zimbabwe (BKAZ) and the Government of Zimbabwe, organised the expo under the theme “Bee-keeping for Economic Empowerment in Africa”.

This event was hosted by Zimbabwe following its successful exhibition in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), during the 3rd edition of ApiExpo Africa in 2012.

Mtisi said the aim of the Expo was to showcase Africa’s honey industry by creating awareness about market and business opportunities and demonstrating the relationship between beekeeping and other industries.

Over 3,000 delegates, exhibitors of bee products and technologies, exporters, importers, researchers, policymakers, honey trade support networks (private, public, NGOs) and development partners participated in the event.

Participants came from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Gambia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Ghana, and Mozambique. The event was covered by the international media.

Beekeeping has been beneficial for poor rural families because honey is subject to fewer price fluctuations than most foods.