Bees Abroad

Our exciting expansion plans mean it’s time to grow our board, increase its diversity and extend its reach. We seek three new committed Trustees with bags of enthusiasm and specialist skills in one or more of Governance, Finance, International Development, Social Enterprise, or Strategic Fundraising. We also seek our next Chair of Trustees with exceptional leadership skills.     If you would like to find out more about these opportunities, please visit our microsite: https://lnkd.in/dEYguVmV

We work with local partners and trainers to deliver beekeeping training. In this video, Niki Backes, Partnership Manager for Uganda, chats with Benson about his experience. Benson is a field trainer with our local partner LIDEFO in Uganda. He visits Bees Abroad communities to train them on beekeeping and support them on their beekeeping journey. #community #skillstraining #beekeeping #charitiesforpeopleandplanet

How we're supporting beekeepers from South Sudan: 🇸🇸 About the challenges in South Sudan South Sudan became the World’s newest country in 2011 following 20 years of civil wars. It remains unstable and the UK government advises against all travel. Support for communities in-country is therefore challenging and limited. We received a request through our website for support from the Namatina Payam Community Beekeeping (NPCB), in South Sudan. 🐝 The community has practised beekeeping for many generations, this is what they told us when they requested support: “Beekeeping is a traditional income generating activities handed over to us by our ancestors and we educate our children through it. It’s a source of income handed down to us by our ancestors and we need to improve on it for better production.” ⚠️ Logistical challenges and making it happen We first explored whether we could help them find support from an organization with a presence in South Sudan but found that there were none. We could not ask our local partner in Uganda, the closest Bees Abroad country, to travel because of the security risk. The only option was to bring them to us and our local partner, LIDEFO, in Uganda. 🌳Taking the training back to the remote community in South Sudan Following the training, Natale Baiki left for his home town, in South Sudan. Natale Baiki told us he sat down with the community members under the shade of trees to teach everyone what he had learned. He showed to them the bee suits, gloves, boots, hive tools, his certificate, training and learning manuals. “They were excited to see all of that and know that people from other parts of the world harvest honey without fire and no bee stings.” We are exploring how we can provide more support to this community while navigating the difficult security problems.

We received this message from Bees Abroad beekeepers in Sierra Leone on World Bee Day 💛 ❝ Happy World Bee Day from Sierra Leone! 🌍 On this World Bee Day, we express our gratitude to Rory's Well, Bees Abroad, and the Bee Farmers Association for their support in implementing this innovative bee farming method in Sierra Leone. By supporting sustainable bee farming practices, we are not only protecting the environment but also ensuring the future of these vital pollinators. 🐝 The new method of bee farming implemented by the Bee Farmers Association in the southern part of Sierra Leone has proven to be incredibly successful. 🍯 The construction of the bee house in September 2023 has provided a secure and reliable space for bee colonies to thrive. In just a few short months, 7 hives were colonised and 5 were harvested, yielding an impressive 100Ib of honey. This is a testament to the hard work of the bees and the effectiveness of the new bee farming method. 💛 The importance of bees as non-timber forest products (NTFP) cannot be overstated. Bees play a crucial role in pollinating plants, including many crops that we rely on for food. Without bees, our ecosystem would suffer, and many plant species would be at risk of extinction. Bees also produce honey, beeswax, propolis, and royal jelly, all of which have various medicinal and nutritional benefits for humans. ❞

Bees Abroad beekeeping groups from around Kenya held special events and activities for World Bee Day 🌍 A big thanks to all the groups who shared their photos and celebrations including AIC Cheptebo, Msisinenyi, Iyale Angamiza and Lolo Beekeeping Groups 🐝

The UN officially designated May 20th as World Bee Day in 2017 to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development. 🐝 We only get one World Bee Day a year but so much happened that we are going to extend the celebrations! 🌍 There were so many gatherings, special events and activities around the World from Bees Abroad communities and supporters. We'll be sharing the details in upcoming posts.

Happy World Bee Day! 🐝 🌍 From Nigeria to Tanzania Bees Abroad communities are celebrating this year’s World Bee Day in style. 🇹🇿 World Bee Day celebrations in Tanzania 🇹🇿 Tanzania are holding a three-day WBD celebration as part of their ramp-up to hosting Apimondia in 2027. The Hive Mama’s and Rachel Monger, Partnership Manager for Tanzania, have joined the festivities. 🐝 Saturday, May 18th marked the opening of the Tanzanian World Bee Day celebrations, organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. 🐝 The exhibit showcased Hive Mama and Bees Abroad’s work in training in sustainable beekeeping with rural community groups and income-generating through quality, value-added beeswax products. 🐝 The District Commissioner, Rosemary Senyamule (see photo) visited the Hive Mama stall along with other dignitaries. 🇳🇬 World Bee Day celebrations in Nigeria 🇳🇬 In Nigeria, communities are promoting the UN’s campaign focusing on youth “Bee engaged in Youth”. Elijah, the spokesperson for Abotokio Slow Food Beekeeping community in Nigeria, who are running a WBD Youth event shared a few words with us: “The celebration of World Bee Day 2024 isn’t merely an acknowledgement of bees’ value—it’s a global declaration of our commitment to the SDGs and a sustainable future. World Bee Day 2024 provides a platform, rallying the world to nurture these pollinators, ensuring that they continue to buzz alongside us, aiding our collective journey towards a better tomorrow.” Read our blog on World Bee Day celebrations: https://lnkd.in/d3b9HGpY

Trisha Marlow, Partnership Manager for Ghana, visited the Atudorobesa beekeepers earlier this year. One of the beekeepers she spoke to was Elizabeth... ❌ In 2018 the Ghanaian government zoned large amounts of family and other farmland in this community for gold exploration, cutting off much of their independence in growing food and making them dependent on market prices – along with massive inflation there is a supply-demand premium locally. This is how the land zoning affected Elizabeth: 👩🏿🌾 “I had five acres I farmed for 40 years from a child and grew cocoa and banana and yam. It was family land. When the government bought my land they did not pay, even now. We were lucky the children had completed school. Now buying food is hard as prices are higher as the market women know we do not have. 🍯 The honey money will help to support the six grand-children as their parents have the same challenges as they also lost family land and independence to support the families.” Read the full story on our blog: https://lnkd.in/d-KNSZ25

Bees Abroad worked with the Excel beekeepers in 2019. When we asked for stories on the theme of 'Food, Beekeeping and Social Justice' they sent us a write-up of how beekeeping has impacted their lives. These are their words: ✅ The beekeeping projects provided opportunities for members to network with other beekeepers and experts in the apiculture industry. The networking opened doors to other learning opportunities, access to new technologies and practices, and exchanging ideas and experiences with fellow beekeepers. 💵 Beekeeping is indeed a lucrative venture, providing an additional source of income for individuals and Excel group. Honey, beeswax, and other bee products are sold locally generating revenue. Also, the knowledge of making hives and other tools has been used in rendering services to other upcoming beekeepers. 🌱 Having enjoyed the benefits of modern beekeeping as thought by Bees Abroad, Excel Beekeepers has taken up the challenge of reaching out to more rural communities, including school children and local farmers of Oyo State to raise awareness about the importance of bees and their role in ecosystems, give beekeeping training to increase the knowledge base and encourage these communities to tap into the multi-floral richness of their environment. 👩🏿🌾 Being a farming community, we’ve experienced that bees play a vital role in pollination, which is essential for the reproduction of many flowering plants and crops. A lot of our members introduced beekeeping into their farms and recorded a significant increase in crop yield. Read the full story on our blog: https://lnkd.in/d6TJhHUv

We're aiming to raise £10,000 for communities by 12:00 this Thursday! This is the second year we've been accepted to take part in the Green Match Fund, which supports charities that have an environmental component to their work. ❓What will we do with the funds... 🇳🇬 In Nigeria, we aim to promote food security by teaching sustainable beekeeping and agriculture. 🇬🇭 In Ghana, we are working to adapt training and support to mitigate the effects of climate and land use change. 🇺🇬 In Uganda we aim to increase food security and income through beekeeping, working with rural farmers and educating the broader community on bees and other pollinators. 🇸🇱 In Sierra Leone, as part of our beekeeping activities, we aim to provide native trees to improve the local environment, biodiversity and forage for pollinators. All donations will be DOUBLED for free by the Big Give, one donation, double the impact. Find out more and donate via: https://lnkd.in/dGrEz6yE