Edward Kamenwa is a good example of how bee-keeping can become a profitable enterprise for small-holding farmers in rural Kenya.
Working with the Lare extension project run by Self Help in partnership with Baraka Agricultural College, Edward is reaping the dividends from the enthusiasm and commitment he has shown to beekeeping since first participating in a beekeeping introductory course at the college.
A former tailor who turned to full-time farming on a 10 acres holding at Gichobo a number of years ago, Edward spent the past number of months building top-bar bee-hives with the skills he picked up on an artisan course he also took at Baraka.
A mixed farmer who grows maize, beans and passion fruit on his farm, he has also established a home nursery, planted a stand of forestry trees to provide both shade for his apiary and wood fuel for his home, and is growing sunflowers and other flowering plants to provide convenient forage for his bee colony – which will number close to 1.5 million bees by the time his apiary is fully occupied.
Edward has just begun harvesting honey from a handful of his hives, and his first yields produced for him around 7kg per hive. In time he expects this harvest to double. Honey is currently selling at 200 Kenya shillings (€2) per kg.
Edward Kamenwa is one of 21 local farmers who are members of the HOBELI (Horticulture, Beekeeping and Livestock) Group, with whom the Self Help extension project is working in Gichobo village. |
Self Help Africa in Kenya |
Self Help Africa began working in Kenya in the late 1990's - initially in partnership with the Franciscan Brothers at Baraka Agricultural College, and in more recent years as a seperate, independent agency.
The organisation continues to work closely with Baraka College on a Beekeeping Extension Programme and other activities, while it has also established it's own area based development programmes in the Rift Valley Province. |
