Robert wants to know about beekeeping support?
hello! We know the great importance of bees in environment. We live in a district where there is no tradition of beekeeping though there is a lot of nectar flowering plants like orange, mango, coconut palm, banana and other wild flowers. We are located in Muheza district, Tanga region in Tanzania (africa)
Knowing the importance of bees in biodiversity and in improving local livelihoods, we have formed a small group of enthusiasts (men & women) and we would like to start beekeeping activities and promote it our area. We are looking for any sort of support, that is basic training & basic equipment, links, hints etc. Can you help in any way? Thank you! Robert Hangi.
3 Answers
Hi Robert
I have recently taken up beekeeping myself. In the UK there is a strong tradition of beekeeping and many local associations providing support with experienced beekeepers mentoring the new ones. I will approach my own association and perhaps we could establish a support system for your group. In the meantime you will find a huge amount of information on the British Beekeepers Association website https://www.bbka.org.uk/learn/getting_started
All the best
Harriette
Hi Robert,
in Kenya you may find a widespread beekeeping practice. They have created projects and publications that may be of help to you in Tanzania. I recall tapping into this site https://www.africanbeekeepers.co.ke/ and also this one https://www.beekeepingnaturally.com.a... when I was working with EACO in Uganda. See next note.
In Uganda, there is an organization https://eacouganda.webs.com/ that has been developing the beekeeping activity for local families as a source of income. You may want to contact Shadrak Kyobe and see what kind of help he can give you. You may mention my name. I no longer have his email address.
I hope this helps, 'nando
Hi Robert,
You may wish to look at these manuals developed by UK ngo Bees Abroad. The aim of Bees Abroad is to provide education and technical advice in Beekeeping and suitable business skills. This is achieved by setting up and supporting field extension services, running training courses for local beekeepers and financing trainers.
They have a basic one which has some excellent pointers on developing top bar hives out of locally available materials and an advanced ones for when skills progress.
https://beesabroad.org.uk/?page_id=126
I have explored some bee keeping sites in Northern Tanzania and found the 'box' hives to be popular but most expensive and less easy to manage.
Bees can fly in a 3 miles radius of their hives and need to have access to flowering plants and water all year round to survive. It may sound very obvious, but have you seen any bees in and around your location/s? If you can find some in forests/ trees near then it is a sign that they can survive and thrive.
African bees are different to UK bees so I would use specific guides for African bees where possible.
Good luck, Lorna
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