Hope Ofiriha's Onura Beekeeping Project will provide microloans, beekeeping training and support, and income to women as well as help combat malnutrition in children.
Many women in Onura are single mothers with kids suffering from malnutrition. Beekeeping is a relatively cheap business for women to run to earn income to better feed their families. Bees find their own food (while helping fertilize crops and without over grazing or contributing to deforestation), and a beekeeper does not need to own land to keep bees. Honey and beeswax are also non-perishable, which make them the perfect commodities to sell in a place where there is virtually no refrigeration.
The project will provide 100 women with $50-$100 microloans to help them start 500 beehives using modern equipment and techniques. It will also set up 50 womens beekeeping organizations, with about 50 members each, providing training and support.
Enabling women to band together to boost one another's income will give them the skills and confidence to transform their lives and their community. It will also prevent hundreds of children from dying or having their growth stunted from malnutrition
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
