Beekeeping project making a difference

Post Correspondent
A PRECIOUS enterprise run by women and men in Mutare has shown great potential of becoming a financially viable business, thanks to a beekeeping project that has the potential of stimulating the local economy by providing the group members with added income. In July 2013, seven women and three males from Mutare got together to start a beekeeping project with the aim of breaking the cycle of poverty and hopelessness.

The members 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.

The group is working closely with Climate Smart Trust, Forestry Commission and Environment Management Agency, among others.
With the bee hives set at Tilbury in Chimanimani, the 10 members from the group now have a sustainable livelihood through selling processed honey and related products.

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

Said Ms Chirara: “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.”

In pursuit of a new trajectory of accelerated economic growth and wealth creation, Government has formulated Zim-Asset that is expected to achieve sustainable development and social equity anchored on indigenisation, empowerment and employment creation.

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

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

She said: “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 interests to ensure trees and foraging areas are kept intact.”

Ms Chirara added that the project had provided them with a new stream of income.
“This has helped us alleviate poverty. We have managed to create employment to the members of the community who make the bee hives.
“This has indeed changed the lives of many,” added Ms Chirara.

“There is a lot of room for expansion. Right now we want to appeal to donors and 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 sights on setting up more bee hives in Vumba, Sheba and Nyanyadzi.
“So we are now appealing for funds to have beehives and establish similar projects in those areas. Our honey is in demand, but we are now facing a problem of beehive shortages. We also want to have more machines to process and package the honey,” Ms Chirara added.
Ms 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,” Ms Mtisi said.

She said the group had been selling by-products like wax, which other families use to make candles and soap, creating an income for them too.
From October 6-11, Ms Mtisi represented the group at 4th All-Africa International Honey Exposition, dubbed 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.

Ms Mtisi said the aim of the Expo was to showcase Africa’s honey industry by creating awareness on market opportunities, 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), development partners, international media, and other stakeholders participated in the event.
Participants came from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Gambia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Ghana, and Mozambique.

Other countries included Malawi, Egypt, Zambia, Burundi, South Africa, Cameroon, Sudan, Morocco, Madagascar, Somalia, Nigeria, DR Congo, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Middle East, Europe, USA and other parts of the world.
Beekeeping has been beneficial for poor rural families because honey is subject to fewer price fluctuations than most foods.