By Gaelle Beltran-Gremaud | Executive Director
Last year, we installed five beehives on Neema’s farm, hoping they would become part of our growing permaculture program. What we didn’t expect was that the hives would be claimed by wild bee colonies! One by one, the bees made themselves at home, building their colonies and turning our hives into something truly productive.
And now, we’ve celebrated our very first honey harvest! It’s an exciting milestone for Neema—not simply because we have honey to enjoy and share, but because it represents another step toward creating practical, sustainable opportunities for our students.
Beekeeping is helping us diversify the skills our young women can develop while at Neema. Alongside dressmaking, catering, agribusiness, and other vocational training, students can learn about bees, hive management, harvesting, and honey production. They can even learn how to construct their own beehives, giving them a skill they could take with them when they graduate.
Our hope is that this little honey harvest will grow into something much bigger. For some of our graduates, beekeeping could become a small business—providing honey for their families while creating an opportunity to generate income and build greater financial independence. Five hives, a few wild colonies, and our first jars of honey may be just the beginning of a new pathway toward sustainable livelihoods for Neema’s graduates.
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