BEEKEEPING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

We produce healthy bee products and save the bees by protecting the environment and forest areas of Tanzania while empowering beekeepers in rural communities.

The beekeeping sector employs 1 million people in Tanzania. It is estimated that Tanzania can accommodate over 9 million bee colonies, however the total annual production is only 20% of the existing potential.  Beekeeping in Tanzania is carried out using traditional methods that account for 99% of the total production of honey and beeswax in the country, approximately 95% of all hives are traditional made of logs and barks, reeds, gourds and pots etc. The average honey production of a modern beehive is between 35 and 45 kilograms per year; while the average production per a traditional beehive is only 5 kilograms. Beekeepers don't have relevant skills to modernize and commercialize their beekeeping practices, this also affects the quality of the honey they produce and makes them struggle to get a reliable market since the honey and wax does not meet international quality standards required. Consumption of the honey that doesn't meet required quality standards also affects the overall health of consumers. The use of log hives also contributes to deforestation since beekeepers cut down trees in unauthorized areas. The use of fire to calm the bees contributes a lot to deaths of the bees. 

We offer free training to beekeepers in rural areas to transform them from traditional to modern beekeeping, then we purchase raw honey from beekeepers at a fair price. We refine the honey and bottle it in good containers to add value and supply to local shops. We have become beekeepers' reliable market. We also supply modern beekeeping tools to beekeepers to help them in their beekeeping operations and maintain the quality of their harvest. We are looking to raise 30,000 USD and construct 1000 top bar hives and distribute them among beekeepers in rural communities.

Our solution targets over 10000 lower income beekeepers in rural communities. Beekeepers don't have access to reliable facilities and education, this affects the quality of the honey they produce. Beekeepers don't have access to loans for scaling their operations. Our solution helps beekeepers access funds, required facilities and gain skills to improve their beekeeping operations while the end consumers of honey get quality and healthy honey.

I'm the first in a family of five children. My parents never went to school, they relied on traditional beekeeping for survival. At the age of 10, I started working with my parents on traditional beekeeping, the struggles we went through inspired me to think of building a social impact driven company that will produce healthy bee products and empower beekeepers in rural areas. Through my volunteering and leadership roles in different organizations I have always been committed to uplifting my fellow peers and community in the spirit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

At 16 I started volunteering in community development programs and at 17 in 2017 I was selected from among hundreds of applicants through a transparent and competitive process run by the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service to speak on behalf of civil society at a high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly organized by the 71st President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Peter Thomson of Fiji at the UN Headquarters in New York. 

Despite my limited opportunities, I have managed to support my younger sister continue with higher education, she is now pursuing her bachelor's degree in Economics and Project management at the Arusha Institute of Accountancy. My younger sister and I have been working together on building a honey business and beekeeping programs with beekeepers in rural areas. We have managed to reach over 100 beekeepers since June 2022. 

From 2018 to 2020 I worked as a beekeeper and honey production worker at Central Park Bees Ltd the leading commercial beekeeping company and honey exporter in Tanzania. After high school in the end of 2020, I joined the Institute of Finance Management for studies in Banking and Finance however I was forced to drop out within the first year due to financial difficulties. I then decided to go for an affordable short course on commercial beekeeping.

I then became part of regional working group on African beekeeping systems for the Apimondia Regional Commission for Africa. Apimondia is a non-governmental organization that brings together beekeepers, manufacturers of beekeeping equipment and a wide variety of scientists involved in apiculture, apitherapy, pollination, development and economics.

The main objective is to facilitate the exchange of information and discussions where beekeepers, scientists, honey-traders, agents for development, technicians and legislators meet to listen, discuss and learn from each other.

Apart from training beekeepers we have modified a top bar hive by inserting a queen excluder which makes it easier for a beekeeper to find the queen. The queen excluder also helps to prevent brood from the honey supers as it keeps the queen from laying eggs in the honey supers. This will help improve the quality of the honey produced.

1. Reach 1000+ beekeepers, 

2. Produce our first batch of 100 modified top bar hives with queen excluders and distribute to our beekeepers.

3. Allocate a minimum of 5000 USD from raised funds to purchase bee smokers and honey pails to be distributed to our beekeepers.

4. Produce the first batch of new honey product specific for people in the sports industry for a healthy heart, strong muscles and maintain high energy levels during their sports activities.

We have designed a modified top bar hive by inserting a queen excluder which makes it easier for a beekeeper to find the queen. The queen excluder also helps to prevent brood from the honey supers as it keeps the queen from laying eggs in the honey supers. This will help improve the quality of the honey produced.

We are currently serving 100 beekeepers and we are planning to serve about 1000 beekeepers in the next year.

The biggest barrier is financial challenge.  We are looking to raise between 10,000 USD to 30,000 USD to implement our strategic plan.

We are currently partnering with Ihana Organization on beekeeping training programs. Ihana organization is launching a project on Beekeeping for improved livelihood and environmental conservation. Our team will provide services related to beekeeping training, hive construction, bee farm set up and management services in the Coastal region of Tanzania while Ihana organization will finance the project in Rufiji district.

We purchase pure raw honey from beekeepers in rural areas and bottle it for retail, wholesale and for export. We sell honey in wholesale to local shops and in retail to consumers.

We supply beehives and beekeeping facilities.

We offer beekeeping project planning and management services.

Beekeeping has around a 30% market share in the food industry, and demand for bee products has grown due to the rise of the health-conscious consumer, willing to spend more on natural products that have perceived health benefits and use of bee products in pharmaceutical, skin care and cosmetics industries. As demand continues to grow, supply runs short.

By 2022 the global honey market was estimated at 9.01 Billion US dollars and is projected to reach a revised size of 13.6 Billion US dollars by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.2% over the analysis period while the world's largest importers are USA, Germany, France, Japan & the United Kingdom.

Today, organizations are challenged to contribute to sustainability. Investors, customers and other stakeholders are holding companies accountable for affecting positive change locally and globally. The need for effective and efficient ways to achieve SDGs opens up a creative explosion for Haven Bees to offer ecological services to organizations/companies that need to demonstrate their commitment to biodiversity and sustainability. Here comes the 100,000 beehives program to help companies, private investors and non-governmental organizations play a role in saving the bees and add an extra stream of revenue. With a networked beehive program, organizations can support keystone species, advance pollinator health, and visibly demonstrate priorities to stakeholders. The data from the 100,000 beehives program can be incorporated into their sustainability reports. Haven Bees will offer Hive construction, bee farm set up and management services to these organizations while at the end Haven Bees will purchase all the honey from these organizations and process it for resale. The 100,000 hives program will bring us a total revenue of over USD 6 Million, if we construct and manage 100,000 beehives for a period of 10 years. This will also increase the annual production of honey and wax to about 4000 tonnes and 300 tonnes respectively as primary products.