LifeSkills: Beekeeping Training for Girls in Kenya

In May 2007 Teach A Man To Fish delivered a fully equipped 9 hive apiary to Lwak Girls High School in Western Kenya using the generous funds donated via Global Giving. A supporting training program for pupils and teachers was also established.

Girls at the school, such as Susan Odongo of Form 3, come from poor farming backgrounds where life after school means supporting themselves and their families through smallscale farming and informal businesses. Susan believes Bee Keeping

“is a valuable skill which will allow me to earn good money, even from a small piece of land”

Bee Keeping is a growing industry in Kenya, where demand for honey outstrips supply, keeping prices high. Royal Jelly and Wax can also be sold through Bee Keeping, and Bees increase the pollination rates and fecundity of flowering crops in their vicinity.

The high profits associated with Bee Keeping will help improve both the quality and availability of education at Lwak. This has generated a tremendous enthusiasm for the project from both staff and teachers.

Agricultural Teacher Meshack Omondi explains that:

“income will be used to purchase educational materials and to subsidize the fees of the poorest students, who currently struggle to meet the amounts required for their attendance.”

The establishment of this apiary is a big step forward for providing rural enterprise training, vocational skills and income for Lwak High School. Whilst part of the income generated from the project will be invested in expanding the apiary, continued support via Global Giving will allow it to reach the target of 20 Hives, allowing more and more students to continue to learn and become ‘Rural Entrepreneurs’.