News

Bees for Development opens its first UK shop in Monmouth, South Wales

Bees and Honey: 10th-24th December 2011

Bees for Development opens its first UK shop, Bees and Honey, in Monmouth, South Wales, in December 2011. The shop will sell honeys and bee products from local and African beekeepers, as well as candles, cosmetics, books, gifts, beekeeping equipment and vouchers for sustainable beekeeping courses. All proceeds from sale of goods go direct to Bees for Development Trust to support beekeeping in developing countries.

10th-24th December 2011: open for Christmas sales. 9am-7pm every day (4pm on Sundays).

January 2012: closed.

February 2012:  Bees and Honey re-opens as Shop and Information Centre about bees and beekeeping in development. 

Location: Bees for Development, 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ. For map, click here.

 

Bees for Development Trust took part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge

5th-9th December 2011

For one week only online donations made to our Honey Bees in Africa project have been doubled by the Big Give.

This is a great opportunity for Bees for Development to improve the quality of information available to African beekeepers, and bring fast development of markets and trade. A flourishing apiculture sector will support biodiversity and community development.

The Big Give is helping us to establish Centres of Excellence in Africa.

For more information about our Honey Bees in Africa project, click here.

 

Guiding Hope of Cameroon wins first prize at African Business Awards

Bees for Development is pleased to announce that our partner organisation Guiding Hope of Cameroon has won first prize in the prestigious Best New Business category at the 2011 Africa Small Medium and Micro Enterprise Awards.

The award is a major recognition for over five years of hard work from a team of six and over 1000 beekeepers in the remote savannah and highlands forests in the Congo basin.

 Now selling over 120 tonnes of beeswax, propolis and honey a year to buyers in the UK, across Europe and Canada, Guiding Hope can hardly keep up with demand! The skilled families that have been practicing beekeeping and honey hunting for centuries, although largely illiterate and living on an average of just over US$2 a day,  are now receiving up to 50% higher prices.

 Guiding Hope’s core trading principles are to support local communities, trade fairly, profitably, and look after the environment.

See Press release here.

Pictures of Guiding Hope on our Facebook page.

 

September Cycle

Howard O'Brien of the company Simply Manuka raised money for Bees for Development Trust by cycling from North Wales to St Andrews in Scotland in September 2011 (300 miles in 4 days).  You can still make a donation and read what Howard says by visiting his Just Giving page click here.

You can also make a donation via your mobile phone by texting 'HELP 62 £10' to 70070 (if you wish you can increase the donation from £10 by increasing the number to £20, £30 etc).

Howard says  "I hope we can raise some good funds for BfD Trust and as this is the first of many rides (I take on the John 'O' Groats  Lands End route next June), I expect to be able to raise funds again in the future."
Many thanks Howard..... (and to Simply Manuka who donate 10p from every product they sell to support the work of the Trust).

Big thanks to all our recent fundraisers!

Swimming for Bees for Development Trust!

Heather Walker swam in the Great North Swim in Lake Windermere (UK) on 18 June, to raise funds for the Trust.

Thanks to Heather and please support her effort by donating via her Just Giving page. Click here to support Heather.

Thank you for supporting our Marathon Runners!

Tracy Greenfield and Karin Courtman ran in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 17 April, to raise funds for the Trust.

Tracy and Karin have so far raised over £4,000. Please continue to support them by donating via our Just Giving page.  Click here to support Tracy.  Click here to support Karin.

Thank you to all who supported us through our recent BBC Radio 4 Appeal, presented by Martha Kearney.

Click here to hear the appeal.

Click here to support Bees for Development Trust.

Forthcoming Bees for Development courses

Beekeeping for livelihoods in developing countries: 30 March 2012, 19 October 2012

Our one day course on strengthening livelihoods by means of beekeeping.
£120 (inclusive of VAT). Venue to be advised (near Monmouth, South Wales). Read more.

Sustainable beekeeping weekend course: 31st March-1st April and the 13th-14th October 2012
An introduction to alternative, more sustainable approaches to beekeeping, with a UK focus.  
Suitable for those with no previous knowledge of beekeeping. Read more... 
£170 (inclusive of VAT). Location: Ragman's Lane Farm, Gloucestershire, UK.  Next date to be announced

Other news

Listen to Deslyn Richard's poem Beekeepers

Raise funds for Bees for Development Trust on eBay

You can now sell items on eBay and raise money for BfDT at the same time. When listing your items, choose to donate between 10-100% of the final selling price to Bees for Development Trust - visit our eBay for Charity page by clicking here

Book now available online

By Dr Nicola Bradbear titled 'Bees and their role in forest livelihoods: a guide to the services provided by bees and the sustainable harvesting, processing and marketing of their products' can now be downloaded from the FAO website. Click hereto be taken to the link in our Information Portal.  Or you can order a copy at our store.

"Special Issue" Apidologie

Release of a "special issue" of Apidologie on Bee conservation. This special edition contains views from the worlds leading experts on bee conservation,  with them expressing the status of bee consevation as it stands now, and also highlighting the areas which need to be addressed. Find out more.