The Afghan Institute of Learning empowers women by providing education, skills training and quality healthcare. Women need a means to earn income for themselves and to help their families. AIL provides skills training in tailoring, beautician, computing, English, traditional arts and chicken and beekeeping. Rural women can keep chickens and bees and earn money from the sale of the produce.
Afghan women need skills which they can use to gain jobs or generate income from home. Beekeeping is a traditional activity in Afghanistan and this project will provide the necessary equipment and education for women to maintain bee hives and harvest honey which will provide them with an income. This job has become more prosperous recently and AIL is investing in beekeeping as a way for women to earn income.
This project will provide 30 bee hives with 8 combs each, half of the hives with worker bees and queen bees. In addition, the project will provide 450 kilos of sugar, helmets, gloves and smokers, transport and the salary for 2 people for 1 year. These people will train women in the care and management of bee hives, hygiene, bee diseases and basic business administration for women starting a small home business. It is estimated that each hive during a season could yield 90 kilos of honey.
AIL is trusted and highly respected so conservative villages trust its staff to come into their communities and provide services. Isolated, under-served and desperate women, with few options to improve their lives, will learn how to care for bees and harvest honey. This activity will give them income and help their families with daily living expenses. The women will gain self-confidence and respect. A successful honey season could provide income more than 3 times the average annual income.
