Lakota Youth Development-Honey Lodge
Beekeeping to support thriving native-owned youth enterprises
The Problem
Western South Dakota is home to the three counties with the nation’s highest poverty rate, and four of the top 10, according to US Census Bureau statistics.
In Todd County, South Dakota, where the Rosebud Sioux reservation is, has an unemployment rate over 80 percent, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. About 76 percent of the employed labor force on the Rosebud Sioux reservation lives below poverty level and 58 percent of youth under the age of 18 in Todd County live below the poverty level (both on and off reservation).
Solution Summary
Lakota Youth Development started Honey Lodge to teach youth about beekeeping, honey, pollination, permaculture, Lakota values, and entrepreneurship. Youth grow and slit hives under a mentor and apprenticeship program. They have the opportunity to take hives home over the summer, harvest the honey for themselves and their family, and sell back extra honey to Honey Lodge. Older youth participants often become staff members at Honey Lodge; many have taken over day-to-day aspects of the business.
The Honey Lodge enterprise (keeping bees, collecting and selling honey) supports Lakota Youth Development's overall mission of promoting education and healthy lifestyles for youth through culturally based strategies. Youth learn critical skills to nurture the environment, build entrepreneurial skills, and thrive in today's world.
Market Opportunity
- According to the USDA, over one-third of all crop production in the US—90 crops ranging from nuts to berries to flowering vegetables—requires insect pollination. Managed honey bee colonies are the primary pollinators and add at least $15 billion a year by increasing yields and helping ensure quality harvests.
- North and South Dakota are the highest honey-producing states in the US.
Statistics
- One out of every three bites of food you eat has been in contact with a honeybee.
- Honey Lodge has served over 550 youth and has sold its honey in 38 states.
Highlights
- Featured on two South Dakota Public Broadcasting TV station programs (Dakota Focus and Savor Dakota)
- Featured in a Mt. Rushmore promotional video and on a National Public Radio talk show as the only native owned youth beekeeping enterprise
- Honey Lodge has been certified as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation
- Articles about Honey Lodge have been published by Powwows.com and Dakota Rural Action
Organization Goals
- Triple the number of hives that they can send out with youth into all 20 communities of the Rosebud Sioux reservation
- Increase impact reservation-wide to include the youth's families and extended families
- Improve workforce development opportunities for local Lakota youth
Existing Partnerships
- Rosebud Sioux Tribe
- AmeriCorps
- Rosebud Economic Development Corporation
- Small Business Administration
- South Dakota Department of Tourism
- Jerry Owens, Mentor and Bee Trainer
Partnership Goals
- Business growth
- Access to capital and new markets
- Youth skills development
- Tourism
- Mentorship
- Marketing
Young Lakota entrepreneurs create sweet business idea to thrive
video pitch
- Pilot
Honey Lodge uses low-tech options such as computers, phones and connectivity using social media platforms and online sales through our website and Facebook page. we also use permaculture techniques to grow bee food plants and nurture wild pollinators.
Honey Lodge is what happens when brilliant minds come together to think outside the box. We found a way to nurture the environment through our own cultural philosophy "Mitakuye Oyasin" ( we are all related) to help our relatives the bees. Living this proactively also helps our youth survive and thrive in todays world. The bees give back hundreds of times over with honey and pollinating our wild medicinal and edible plants. Youth also learn critical skills to nurture the environment, build entrepreneurial skills and tenacity to thrive in todays world.
Lakota Youth Development started the program through initial startup grants and have volunteer mentor beekeepers that help teach youth to grow and slit hives so that youth are provided apprentiship to take a hive home over the summer to nurture and care for with mentors help. They are then able to harvest the honey for themselves and their family and sell back any extra honey to Honey lodge to sell to keep the enterprise going. Older youth become staff for Honey lodge and taking over day to day aspects of the business.
Lakota Youth Development- Honey Lodge serves Lakota youth ages 10 to 25 primarily from the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, however we also have some involvement with non native youth and youth from other neighboring reservations in South Dakota. Honey Lodge is currently serving over 25 youth directly and has served over 550 youth via participation in various aspects of education and awareness. Youth participate in multigenerational education and awareness sessions in bee keeping, environmental and entrepreneurial skills and cultural, spiritual and language reconnection.
Our future goals are to triple our number of hives that we can send out with youth into all 20 communities of our reservation. This will then increase our impact reservation wide to include the youth's families and extended families becoming interested in not only supporting their relative but supporting the success of the enterprise. This will also have an economic impact as more youth will generate income for themselves to take some of the stress off their families and tribe to meet basic needs such as school cloths and incidentals that many now struggle to obtain.
Honey Lodge has a video (attached) and featured on two South Dakota Public Broadcasting TV station programs; Dakota Focus and Dakota Savor to tell the story of our endeavor. We are in a promotional video at Mt. Rushmore. Honey Lodge has also on featured on a talk show on National Public Radio as the only native owned youth beekeeping enterprise. Honey Lodge has been certified as a Wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. Honey Lodge is article on the Powwows.com and Dakota Rural Action. We have has sold honey to over 38 states.
We were excited to see an opportunity to help us overcome barriers to our growth and development. We hope Solve will assist us to gain access to capital and new markets that we simply do not have access to due to our remote location and limited resources and connections to those that can help. We are seeking to develop new skills that will help our youth led social enterprise achieve full sustainability and capability to have a real economic impact across our reservation.
Rosebud Economic Development Corporation, we are partnering to increase resources both financial and staffing through AmeriCorps vistas to improve the sustainability of our food system across the reservation. We are also working with SD Tourism to increase our involvement in agri-tourism and cultural - tourism.
We would like to work with organizations that have successful social enterprises that can mentor our group to achieve a sustainable level of both capital and employment opportunities for our youth. We are looking for partnership in marketing and business to help us fully develop a solid long range plan for our youth enterprise. We are also looking to partner with innovators that can see new ways of working environmentally smart and minimize negative impacts on the planet.
Fellow Team
Headquarters:
Herrick, SD, USA
Project Stage:
Growth
Working in:
Rosebud Sioux Reservation, SD, USA
Team Members:
10
Website:
https://www.lakotayouthdevelopment.org/
Executive Director