BEEKEEPING COOPERATIVE

BEE FARM

BUSINESS INITIATIVE WITH SOCIAL IMPACT

BACKGROUND

Grassroots situation in Turkana

This desert region is inhabited by 900,000 people, mainly of the Masai ethnic group. A population whose economy is based mainly on family livestock (goats, cows) and in which any other form of economic activity is non-existent. The vulnerability of this population is determined by the spectacular effect that climate change has produced in the region (between 2-3º increase in average temperature since 1950) and the limited capacity of the population to overcome these changes due to the practically non-existent physical infrastructures (roads, water supply infrastructures, electricity, etc.), as well as services (health, education, food security, etc.).

Project motivation

The increase in the demand for beekeeping products, together with the availability of natural resources in the study area, and in view of the fact that beekeeping can be a profitable alternative in an area highly affected by extreme poverty without any economic activity possible to develop, made us think of this project as a viable alternative to seek new forms of economic sustenance for the local population.

PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The present project aims to design a rare beekeeping model in western Kenya. It is about the creation of a beekeeping social enterprise with a honey, royal jelly and apitoxin extraction plant in Masailand area - Kaiado County.

Site

The project will be implemented in Kajiado county, Close to Ngong Hills in an area of 200,000 m2 in the lands of Masai tribe.

All the apiaries have access for vehicles, and a water supply point, facilitating the tasks of managing the hives.

The extraction plant will have an area of 200 m2, will be located close to Ngong town in the facilities that the organization has in the area. The objective of the location in the Ngong town area near the main road, which connects it to the main city of the country, Nairobi, is to facilitate the direct sale of bee products to consumers in the area as well as shipping to large trading companies in the city of Nairobi.

Initial phase

During this first initial phase it is intended to carry out an on-site study on the viability of the project that confirms the information obtained from local experts in Kenya, giving us an approximation in terms of production of goods, harvest times, etc ...

For this first phase of the study, the installation of 40 hives in different locations in the region is foreseen in order to obtain the necessary information regarding honey production capacity per hive, improvement of locations and times between harvests.

Next phases

Once the initial phase of the project has been completed and its viability confirmed, the project foresees the expansion of the number of hives by a number of at least 200 hives per year until reaching the goal of 1000 hives and a honey production of 20,000 kilos per year. plus a still to be determined amount of apitoxin.

These phases will be divided into 5 annual phases that will increase the number of hives by 200 per year.

Agents involved

Aztivate Foundation is the driving organization of the project who will manage together with the local community the proper development of the project.

Local communities. Local communities will be the main beneficiaries of the project results. On the one hand they will have the preferential right to access the jobs generated in the development of the project and on the other they will acquire all the necessary knowledge of a lucrative economic activity that in the future they can develop independently, which constitutes a great opportunity to seek a new way of life that guarantees their survival.

The estimate in terms of job creation in the first phase of the project is 15 people.

DESIGNING THE PROJECT

Project beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of the project will be all the people who want to develop a lucrative activity that allows them to develop a world of life for their subsistence. Access to the project for women will be prioritized.

Initially and for the initial phase of the project, one of the human settlements (towns) will be selected according to suitability criteria based on its geographical location, surrounding vegetation, access to water, etc ... Within this settlement a group will be selected of people (mainly women) who will be in charge of their care and maintenance and of the extraction and manufacture of the final product.

Beneficiaries will receive:

- Training in beekeeping.
- Training in beehive manufacturing
- Equipment and material for the installation of hives.

Aztivate will have a person within the organization with training in beekeeping, in charge of supervising the proper functioning and care of the hives, advising the beneficiaries of the project and constantly monitoring the entire process.

Reinvestment of profits

The extraction plant will commercialize, under the sanitary registration obtained, the finished product in the local markets of the country, obtaining an economic profitability for it.

The profits obtained from the commercialization of the final product will be reinvested in the acquisition of beehives and equipment to continue training new project beneficiaries.

Development of the following phases of the project

For the development of the following phases of the project, the establishment of a workshop for the construction and repair of the beehives is foreseen, which will offer possibilities of access to the labor market to the population of the city of Lokitaung.