The humble honey bee is saving lives in Uganda
The health benefits of honey are well known and now this wonderful natural resource could be available to many of the rural poor in East Africa.
Hives Save Lives is a bright idea from Richard Unwin, a successful businessman who is also passionate about ingenious ways of tackling rural poverty in Africa. The charity also boasts an impressive board of trustees with many titled patrons supporting their work.
Richard set up Hives Saves Lives to introduce beekeeping equipment and training to enable honey harvests to provide a sustainable and viable income for poor rural people.
Although Richard is introducing modern Apiculture (Beekeeping) to this part of Africa, collecting honey has actually been a long tradition in Africa. Traditional African ‘honey harvesting’ targeted natural bee colonies, often in log hives and collecting the honey often resulted in the hives destruction.
Farming the bees or realising the potential for a cash crop had been difficult because of lack of resources and training. Setting up any kind of commercial activity is difficult in any poverty stricken developing country due to lack of resources.
The African bee is a truly wild creature and does not have the disease problems of the interbred European strains used throughout most of the world. For this reason, the use of antibiotics will not be necessary and the honey will be far more acceptable when it is produced in a cleaner and more manageable fashion. In fact, I think that African honey could become a leading organic brand once the producton problems are put right.
Currently based in Uganda, making hives that have been specifically designed to be easy and cheap to produce in East Africa from locally available materials. Making the hives along with other equipment needed to keep bees also provides a source of income through employment.
Week long training packages, including hives and equipment are provided to approved projects along with ongoing support to get the hives established and producing honey. Simple business help is also given to ensure that the honey finds a good market and achieves a fair price. Projects agree to repay the cost of training and equipment over 4 or 5 years, (interest free) using income from selling honey, thus making it very sustainable.
Suitable projects can be local NGO’s (non governmental organisations), farmers groups, cooperatives, youth groups, women’s groups and even schools.
Projects also report back each month on their progress and this enables the staff at hives saves lives to quickly sort out any problems with the bees or management.
To find out more about this project, visit ‘Hives Saves Lives‘ and get involved!
Ian Anderson is a builder turned humanitarian and most days you can find him pottering about at his blog polishing peanuts, trying to find sense in an often bewildering world.
About Ian Anderson
I have as a project to build one of those special hives they use in africa called top bar hives. It is the most natural way of beekeeping. This is an inspiring way of helping people of africa to help them self. By sharing knowledge.
Couldn’t agree more. I was so annoyed that we couldn’t place a volunteer with them during my last visit to the region. The media attention would have been great for them.
Ian recently posted..Photos from Uganda…Lost and found
Oh yes Ian . Volunteers are very important . Sometimes best willing giving to the best ability applies very well on African children who in exchange pays alot of patience to learn from a visitor . And the visitor is in an angle of learning from the African life style. Both the volunteer and the children learn directly freely from one another. My aim is to have volunteers in different fields as from children, youth, women and the old. Remembering that there are the Widows and the Orphans , The HIV/AIDS projects this is all the society and the truth is that there are volunteers for women, youth sports, and counselors . The society we are today living in is partially teared up and the crucial role is to mend it up.. Volunteers you have Hosts and our Mission on set goals can teach the Millinium Development .
Glad you agree Michael,
Thanks for stopping by, did you visit the ‘Hives Saves Lives’ page?
Stay well
Yes i did and actually tried to sign on the page. The chairman of Pledgeforchange football team that am the founder has a piece of land and has planted some trees and when i was speaking out to him about the bees . We came to a solution of a bee project , Yes i want to be part of it. My non profit will be on soon less than a weeks time . It cost determination and commit . A ready and willing
This is so cool! I love hearing about all the help bees are to our world. It is a really easy way to “save lives”.
Morrie Hudiburg recently posted..Bees in their Natural State
Beekeeping is a good livelihood in developing countries. The people just need the know-how of beekeeping.
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Wow, what a wonderful idea. Not only is it helping people in poverty but its also reestablishing bees. We have so much fear here in the U.S. about the bees disappearing. We need all the world to make sure that bees survive.
Hi Cat
Sadly lots of people are so detached with life on our planet that they just don’t get the idea that spraying crops and gardens is kiling the bees and other insects. One day if things dont change immediately….Where have all the flowers gone?…Long time passing….