Bees for Development is an international charity working to alleviate poverty through beekeeping. Beekeeping contributes to supporting sustainable livelihoods in poor and remote communities; honey bees provide an essential

ecosystem service Ecosystem services are the many and varied benefits to humans provided by the natural environment and healthy ecosystems. Such ecosystems include, for example, agroecosystems, forest ecosystem, grassland ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems. ...

. Bees for Development currently runs projects in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

. Its offices are in Monmouth, South Wales.

History and philosophy

Founded in 1993, Bees for Development works in partnership with beekeepers and international organisations, such as Apimondia, Keystone Foundation, and the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO). The charity promotes beekeeping in support of poor and remote communities as well as in support of biodiversity. It focuses on the use of

appropriate technology Appropriate technology is a movement (and its manifestations) encompassing technological choice and application that is small-scale, affordable by locals, decentralized, labor-intensive, energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable, and loca ...

and values, and respects local skills. It believes that self-reliance and empowerment of the poor can be enhanced through access to knowledge and information, and through trade in bee products. It also advocates less intervention with bee production and using hives free of internal frames. Bees for Development Trust is the working title of The Troy Trust, a registered charity under English law, set up in 1999. It is governed by a board of trustees and supported by patrons, including

Monty Don Montagu Denis Wyatt Don (born George Montagu Don; 8 July 1955) is a British horticulturist, broadcaster, and writer who is best known as the lead presenter of the BBC gardening television series '' Gardeners' World''. Born in Germany and rais ...

Bill Turnbull William Robert Jolyon Turnbull (25 January 1956 – 31 August 2022) was an English television and radio presenter and journalist, whose broadcasting career spanned over four decades. He began his career working for radio stations including Rad ...

and Sting.

Activities

The charity publishes the ''Bees for Development Journal'' which focuses on appropriate beekeeping technologies, sharing lessons learnt in different countries worldwide. The Uganda Honey Trade Project works with local beekeepers associations, including ApiTrade Africa, to help raise incomes through strengthening honey trade. In Zanzibar, Bees for Development runs a partnership project with Danish charity DANTAN, focusing on boosting the honey industry on

Unguja Unguja (also referred to as "Zanzibar Island" or simply "Zanzibar", in grc, Μενουθιάς, Menuthias – as mentioned in The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'') is the largest and most populated island of the Zanzibar archipelago, in Tanza ...

, the main island of Zanzibar, and on the island of

Pemba Pemba may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Pemba Island, in Tanzania * Pemba, Mozambique Pemba is a port city and district in Mozambique. It is the capital of the province of Cabo Delgado and lies on a peninsula in Pemba Bay. The town was found ...

. In

, funding from the Darwin Initiative, who encourage biodiversity in poor countries, has been secured. Bees for Development also disseminates training resources worldwide, manages an on-line library of beekeeping information and organises beekeeping safaris. The charity is also assisting an area resident with her attempts to preserve a Monmouthshire farm. The resident had established a hive at her farm three years ago after taking a beekeeping course. In the summer of 2011, the colony was thriving. However, the following mild winter led to increased bee activity and ultimately the death of the colony, as determined by Nicola Bradbear Bees for Development. The charity suggested top-bar hives that approximate a wild bee nest, in lieu of more traditional frame hives. The organisation is assisting the farmer with establishing an apiary that has both types of hives. Visitors to the farm will learn about two different approaches to beekeeping. In addition, plants beneficial to both hive and wild bees, including

borage Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region, and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gard ...

and

phacelia ''Phacelia'' (phacelia, scorpionweed, heliotrope) is a genus of about 200 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the borage family, native to North and South America. California is particularly rich in species with over 90 recorded ...

, are being planted.

Recent achievements

2006–2009 Research in bees, biodiversity, and forest livelihoods in India

The research project of bees, biodiversity and forest livelihoods in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve began on 1 June 2006. This-three-year project was funded under the UK Government-funded Darwin Initiative to study the interdependencies between bees, biodiversity, and forest livelihoods in the

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in the Nilgiri mountains of the Western Ghats in South India. It is the largest protected forest area in India, spreading across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. It includes the protected ar ...

of the Western Ghats, India. The project was implemented locally by the Keystone Foundation, working in partnership with local indigenous communities and Forest Department staff, and three UK-based partners: Professor Janet Seeley, The School of Development Studies,

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

; Dr. Nicola Bradbear, Bees for Development; and Professor Simon Potts, The Centre for Agri-Environmental Research,

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

2006–2008 Strengthening trade in honey and other bee products in Uganda

The aim of this pilot project (2006–2008) was to increase trade in honey, bringing more income to poor, rural beekeepers. The Project was funded by the UK-based donor,

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

, and implemented by the Uganda Export Promotion Board (UEPB), The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation (TUNADO), and Bees for Development. Beekeeping is practised widely in Uganda. The local market for table honey is significant, and demand in urban areas outstrips supply. Trade opportunities for other bee products are also growing. However, inefficiencies in the supply chain and the low capacity of producers to understand and negotiate markets, means that this activity is not achieving its full potential in bringing income benefits to the poor.Uganda Export Promotion Board and International Trade Centre Counterpart Team. 2005
Uganda Apiculture Export Strategy
. 2005. Retrieved May 2012

References

External links

Bees for Development Website

ApiTrade Africa and their youtube channel

UEPB

TUNADO
{{Authority control Beekeeping organizations Charities based in Wales Development charities based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1993 1993 establishments in Wales Agricultural organisations based in Wales Beekeeping in the United Kingdom