Bee Keeping Proposal - a series of Self Sustaining Projects in Tanzania

Summary Proposal

For Harry Inman plus John Hammond to set up a pilot Bee Keeping project at Amani Christian Training College in the Diocese of Ruaha, Iringa, Tanzania.   Bee keeping is widespread in Tanzania but yields are low (termite problems).   Honey is considered a luxury and commands a high price.   Each Hive, properly constructed and placed has the potential to produce 12KG of honey annually giving an income of TZS   (waiting for the number)      The college would become a "centre of excellence" in Tanzania and put on Bee Keeping courses to augment its own income.

Proposal

The centre itself has 20 hives of which only 10 are productive due to termite problems.

The proposal is that HI + JH visit the college during the next holidays and set up a production unit to be run by the School Staff in their Carpentry Class room and Sewing Classroom for the manufacture of hives, presses and protective clothing.    The items would be made to the designs used for previous projects in Nigeria, Kenya, etc.  and the aim would be to replace ten of their hives.     Harry's design has clever ways of inhibiting termites.    He would leave both the designs and the instructions of how to make and use.

A fund for travel, prototype materials etc of about £2,000 would be required.

This would enable the College to put on their own beekeeping courses  during future college holidays with the target students coming from more than 2000 pastors and evangelists in the Anglican, Pentecostal and Newfrontier Churches.     The  Anglican Churches have in place pastors Loan Schemes which would offer loans to students and would be repaid when their hives are productive.    We would need to seedfund a similar scheme for Newfrontiers Pastors. 

There appeared to be widespread interest in participating in the scheme.   It is an ideal project for Rural Pastors to augment their income by very little effort and at the same time increase growing potential on their land.

The picture on the left is a local hive in use at Amani, located in a tree as is the normal (not recommended) practise locally.

The ones below are from Harry's hives in Nigeria