🐝🍯 The Buzz About Honey

In Zambia, a Mutanda based agro-business is a good example of the interconnected nature of sustainability and of our integrated approach in action.

The project, which trains and supports local community beekeepers, also promotes forest conservation and is set to be a critical part of our first REDD+ initiative. By working with and aligning to the requirements of REDD+, we are able to generate carbon credits which are a critical part of our approach to offset our carbon emissions, particularly our hard to abate emissions.

The Honey Factory is abuzz with activity on a rainy summer afternoon. They have just received a delivery of honey from one of their honey cooperatives and are setting out to check the crates of honeycomb for quality and taste. Throughout the rest of the building, staff get to work processing and packaging honey for sale at local shops. All of this is possible following the construction of their new honey facility, funded by Barrick in 2022.

The Honey Factory is part of the Mutanda Agro Products Barn, located a short drive from our Lumwana Copper Mine in Zambia.

As a partnership between the Mutanda Mission Center, the Lumwana Community Development Trust, and a local Beekeepers Cooperative, the Agro Barn is one of the many community programs we are proud to support. 

Helping the Hive

The Agro Barn ensures that the livelihoods of their community members are the top priority. They purchase honey from cooperatives in three local chiefdoms, each co-op consisting of 1,000 hives, managed by 50 beekeepers. The beekeepers are given hives to start, then taught the necessary skills to capture swarms, maintain and rehabilitate hives, and invest in strategies for long-term apiary success. Members of each co-op are also shareholders, where they receive profits and dividends from the Agro Barn honey sales.

Putting Forests First 

The health of local forests is crucial to the longevity of the Mutanda beekeeping industry. To have healthy, productive hives, the community needs to protect the forests from pesticides and deforestation. Currently, one of the main economic activities of the area involves cutting down trees to be burnt for charcoal production, while smallholder farmers often rely on chemical pesticides to grow their crops. To counteract this, the Agro Barn is working with the communities to promote organic farming methods and alternative livelihoods like horticulture, teaching, and beekeeping.

The conservation of forests goes hand in hand with our larger goals for preserving nature in Zambia. In 2023, we made progress by establishing land for REDD+ certification near our Lumwana operations, and plan to continue to work with organisations like the Agro Barn to foster engagement with our community and promote forest-friendly livelihoods. 

The Path Ahead 

The Agro Barn has big plans for the future. They plan to invest in automatic processing equipment to allow them to change the lives of even more beekeepers. With these new efficiencies, they plan to create larger retail partnerships, and delve into new products like beeswax candles, and bring sustainable livelihoods to more of their community.