Why support beekeeping?

Beekeeping is practised widely in the developing world, using local techniques, local materials and local bees. It tends to be regarded as a poor-person's activity, unworthy of investment and support, and in many developing countries beekeepers lack assistance and the services that they need.

By neglecting bees, we are risking the planet’s biodiversity.

It is essential that honey bees are managed wisely and sustainably - this can be achieved as part of a strategy to alleviate poverty.

Beekeeping is especially useful for poor, rural communities because little or no money is needed to get started, and unlike growing crops - which is labour intensive - people can keep bees in their spare time and sell honey and other bee products for profit.

Beekeeping can help the poorest, most isolated communities because it:

• requires no land ownership, making it a useful income source for landless people
• requires no money to get started: hives can be made from local materials and bees are free, living in the wild
• is not time-consuming and  can fit around other responsibilities, like child-care or farming
• produces honey and beeswax , valued as food and for income generation
• provides medicine:  honey and propolis are used in many societies
• offers a year-round source of income, based in the local community
• ensures pollination, improving crop yields and profits for farmers
• maintains biodiversity - by taking care of bees, we take care of our environment.

Many beekeepers rely on profits from the sale of honey and beeswax to pay for children's schooling, or to cover hospital bills. With encouragement and support, beekeeping can sustain whole communities. 

Help us to provide the vital ongoing support that beekeepers need to escape poverty. Set up a monthly donation to the Bees for Development Trust and start changing lives today!

Testimonial

"My name is Prosper Agbeti from Ghana. I was born to a low-income family. After completing junior high school, I was left to find some work on the street of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, selling ice cream and water to make a living and help my parents. One day, I met a man who told me to take up beekeeping, since it is a lucrative job. The next day, he taught me how to colonise bees, protect myself from bee stings, and harvest and process honey. Since then I have set up 20 sets of long stroth bee hives in the Volta region of Ghana. I am currently training people in the rural areas of Ghana. Through beekeeping I have completed my high school education without my parents assistance. I am also reading more information on bees and am the manager of Bees for Development, Ghana. I want to establish branches throughout Ghana" 
Prosper Agbeti, Ghana 2010