TaTEDO SESO Conducts Beekeeping Training for Improving Livelihoods and Community Capacity Building in Kibiti District.

TaTEDO SESO, through the Integrated Sustainable Charcoal Value Chain Promotion Project (ISU-CHAVPRO) project, conducted an intensive bee-keeping training session on 31/10/2024. The training aimed to improve the capacities of local communities in the Kibiti District of Pwani Region to improve productivity, sustainably manage forests, and improve their socio-economic well-being.  The training, held at the Kibiti District Council Hall, was led by Mr. Mlingi and Mr. Liana and brought together 39 participants, including the Hapakazi group of Kibiti, with 16 members. The Beekeeping officers from four districts also attended this training.

Participants were trained on the methods and motivations for starting beekeeping, bee products, suitable locations for hive placement, bee species, and the benefits of bee products.

In addition to gaining the theory of bee-keeping, participants engaged in practical training sessions where they learned to identify bee predators and methods to control them, how to prepare wax foundation for honeycombs, how to set up hives, and how to use various beekeeping equipment, such as protective clothing, honey extraction machines, and packaging tools.

The training is part of a larger effort to reduce dependence on charcoal production as a primary income source, which has environmental implications. Furthermore, it promotes the use of bees as a natural deterrent to protect crops from wildlife, including elephants, which pose a significant threat to agricultural yields. This initiative reflects TaTEDO SESO's commitment to sustainable livelihoods and environmental conservation in rural Tanzania.

The participants expressed great satisfaction with the training, noting that it provided them with a shared understanding, enabled them to exchange ideas, and expanded their knowledge of beekeeping practices. They also expressed optimism that the groups involved would begin implementing their newfound skills, especially in proper hive usage, while encouraging collaboration for effective and productive beekeeping across the Coast Region.

The session aimed to increase participants’ understanding of beekeeping techniques to boost honey production, providing an avenue for economic empowerment among village groups in the district. Each group received a copy of the training materials after the session.

Beekeeping is one of the activities that extract forest resources without depleting it but rather increasing its genetic diversity and ensuring its existence through the provisioning of pollination services. However, constraints that hinder the development of bee-keeping continue to exist, one of them being the lack of adequate and appropriate processing and storage facilities for bee products. This explains the failure of Tanzania to maintain its market share in the local and external markets because poor and unhygienic processing affects negatively the quality and cannot ensure stable supplies and product consistency. 

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