WOMEN’S BEEKEEPING ENTERPRISE

A NEW INITIATIVE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ELEPHANT CRISIS FUND

Women beekeepers lead the way with elephant-friendly livelihoods

📍 BONDE LA FARU SUB-VILLAGE, MBULUMBULU, ARUSHA REGION, TANZANIA

We began 2022 with fierce determination and fresh optimism to protect our planet’s biodiversity, and with that, Wild Survivors has launched a new initiative which combines two powerhouses for conservation: women and bees.

With support from The Elephant Crisis Fund, and our Wild Survivors’ donors, we are supporting women who live and farm along the elephant corridor boundary, with an apiary and Beekeeping Enterprise Hub. Thirty-six women have formed a group ‘The NARI Women’s Beekeeping Group‘, aptly named after the Nari tree (Acacia xanthophloea), under which the new members have held their meetings, and formed the official group constitution.

**STAGE 1 /**

The women have completed their first week’s Practical Beekeeping Training, embracing every session and advancing into active beehive inspections and honey harvesting along the beehive fence.

**STAGE 2 /**

The group requested land through their local village government, for their apiary and the central beekeeping enterprise hub. With the appropriate sites selected the apiary was installed, set against the backdrop of the Ngorongoro Highlands Forest, housing ten Langstroth frame beehives, with space to expand.

**STAGE 3 /**

The Enterprise hub, equipped with a professional honey processing room, kitchen, store and break-out training/meeting area, will be built in a central location, supporting all community groups. With an inspirational view of the mountains and valley beyond the escarpment.

DONATE TO HELP FUND THE HUB!

By joining The Hive, your support is uplifting rural communities and empowering women to achieve financial independence while preserving ecosystems that are critical to stabilising climate change.

A triple win for people and the planet.

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PROJECT BACKGROUND

Women hold unique knowledge of the environment

As the family’s firewood and water collectors, women depend on access to natural resources from the surrounding environment, particularly the wildlife corridor. They must traverse wild lands, monitor wild animal movements and changes in weather patterns. They are also placed at greater risk of wildlife interactions, dehydration and lung disease (from cooking on open fires in small enclosed areas).

Beekeeping helps to bridge the gap in historic gender inequality and creates financial independence for women. The beekeeping enterprise will create a group fund for school fees, every day needs, and the purchase of gas with the aim of reducing their dependence on firewood collection and time spent in the corridor.

SUPPORT WOMEN AND BEES

Beekeeping for elephants

Beekeeping is fast becoming a popular complementary livelihood to coexistence farming in Upper Kitete, with Wild Survivors beekeeping workshops igniting a passion for bees village-wide. Farmers and their families are promoting conservation efforts to preserve forests for the bees, acknowledging the importance of this wild habitat range as an elephant buffer zone.

With 95% of our community collaborators vocalising the importance of protecting the wildlife corridor, establishing corridor conservation initiatives, such as beekeeping, that reduce competition for resources, and increase livelihood income and safety for people and wildlife, can create win-win results for achieving human-elephant coexistence.