MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

Backyard Stingless Beekeeping

One-line solution summary:

Promoting backyard beekeeping for nesting ecology, cultural and socio-economic importance of stingless bees in Tanzania

Pitch your solution.

Most of the threats recorded are mainly human induced. Forest fire (63%), honey hunting (26%) and logging for timber (10%) are the dominant threats to stingless bees in Tanzania. Together with other factors, may collectively negatively increase the threats to these endangered species around African continent and the whole World.

What specific problem are you solving?

Very few farmers keep stingless bees in Tanzania. However, most of stingless bee colonies are destructed by illegal local honey hunters, bush fires, insecticides and pesticides from local farmers also their products are destructively harvested from feral colonies and poorly processed and parked for human consumptions. In spite of the cultural, socio-economic and ecological roles played by stingless bees in Tanzania, they have been poorly managed and conserved for the future generation

What is your solution?

This project aims at establishing 100 stingless beehives on my backyard area with a total area of 75X35 meters. These hives will be used as a platform for the promotion of the cultural, socio-economic and ecological roles played by stingless bees in Tanzania and will be used as a training platform for youth and women and also will be a source of colonies for supporting other backyard stingless beekeepers. Also 1% of the produced honey will be distributed to old people, chronic-ill persons, pregnant and lactating women and children under 5.

Also, the project will help the rest of the community in different ways including;
• Source of knowledge and skills as a demo project
• Source of food-Honeybee
• Source of information/data for underground researchers
• Domestic and international tourism attraction
• Improved pollination among different species of plants both wild and domestic
• Improved youth and women income through selling honey, beeswax and pollen
• Enhanced ecology around the area of project intervention hence improved livelihoods

In turn, this project with its integrated impacts towards community through women and Youth, will contribute on climate changes mitigation and adaptation measures by improving the ecology for improved biodiversity and ecosystem.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

The solution will directly serve women and youth as partners in the project implementation while the elders, chronic-ill, pregnant and lactating women and children under 5 will benefit from the project results/ products by sharing 1% of the total project income/produce either through honey distribution or/and income generated from selling other products like beeswax.

Also, the project will impact the rest of the community in different ways including;

Source of knowledge and skills as a demo project
Source of food-Honeybee
Source of information/data for underground researchers
Domestic and international tourism attraction for income generation
Improved pollination among different species of plants both wild and domestic
Improved youth and women income through selling honey, beeswax and pollen
Enhanced ecology around the area of project intervention hence improved livelihoods

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are major pollinators of many wild and cultivated plants, and both indigenous and non-indigenous populations use their products for diverse purposes including food, crafts, and medicine.

Creating scalable cultural and socio-economic opportunities for local communities including women and youth through backyard stingless beekeeping hence improving ecology in line with their health, income and skills transformation for the sustainability of project results and the future generation

Pollinators strongly influence ecological relationships, ecosystem conservation and stability, genetic variation in the plant community, floral diversity, specialization and evolution. Bees play an important, but little recognized role in most terrestrial ecosystems where there is green vegetation cover for at least 3 to 4 months each year. In tropical forests, savannah woodlands, mangrove, and in temperate deciduous forests, many species of plants and animals would not survive if bees were missing. This is because the production of seeds, nuts, berries and fruits are highly dependent on insect pollination, and among the pollinating insects, bees are the major pollinators. In rain forests, especially in high mountain forests where it is too cold for most bees, other pollinators like bats and birds play a greater role in plant pollination. In farmed areas, bees are needed for the pollination of many cultivated crops, and for maintaining biodiversity in ‘islands’ of non-cultivated areas. The main role of bees in the different ecosystems is their pollination work. Other animal species are connected with bees: either because they eat the brood or honey, pollen or wax, because they are parasitic to the bees, or simply because they live within the bees nest.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Create scalable economic opportunities for local communities, including fishing, timber, tourism, and regenerative agriculture, that are aligned with thriving and biodiverse ecosystems

Explain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge.

The Uluguru mountain forest (UMF) lies immediately South of Morogoro town in Tanzania between latitude 7° and 8° S and longitude 37° -38° E. T.
The climate of the area is not as favorable as it was in past years when forest cover was greater. Over an area of 527 km2, 60% of the vegetation cover is said to have been lost.
Different socio-economic activities are carried out around the forest: agriculture is mostly carried out at subsistence level to produce both food and cash crops; hunting is also practised by the pastoralists and the indigenous people.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

The region for this solution will be Morogoro, United Republic of Tanzania, East Africa. Morogoro is the capital town of the Morogoro region with a population 2,218,492 people as per 2012 National Population and Housing Census. It lies between Latitude: -6° 49' 15.67" S and Longitude: 37° 39' 40.39" E. Morogoro is 495m above sea level and the climate here is tropical. In winter, there is much less rainfall than in summer. The rainfall here is around 972 mm | 38.3 inch per year and the temperature here averages 22.6 °C | 72.7 °F. Hence, the condition favors the proposed project

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community.

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution.

This is because the project idea is already defined, clarified, the goal is set and defined, and the root cause is identified and also the action plan is developed, but not financed. With little funds from my personal income, I managed to purchase and hang five stingless beehives and implemented a pilot project of the same innovation, the results were positive and with high rate impact. This pushes me to dig for financial supports in order to extend the project results coverage for benefiting more community members for the sustained ecology and ecosystem

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Mr Nguno Bahebe Chugga