An impressive start for our beekeeping and conservation work in Zimbabwe

Since the Green Match fundraising campaign in April, there has been much activity in Zimbabwe.

Robert Mutisi, founder of our partner organisation Working for Bees, gives us an update below on the impact that the generous donations from our Green Match donors has had.

Beekeeping training for landless women

40 landless women have so far been identified for the beekeeping training programme, and they have started work setting up the study apiary.

We have signed an agreement with a local landowner who owns 150 hectares of land that is covered by different tree species such as the Syzygium, Acacia and Miombo woodland. Our women group members will have access to this area to carry out their beekeeping, tree planting and conservation activities.

Local councils, local leadership in communities, church organisations and farmers with big farms that are lacking conservation, regenerative and land restoration initiatives have also been approached and three similar agreements are soon to be signed under this project.

We are continuing to reach out to villages and we are finding people excited to start a beekeeping project and conserve the environment for the benefit of bees and human beings.

Signing the agreement at the new site

Project launch with the Working for Bees team

Seed collection

The month of July marked the beginning of seed collection season since most trees will have fruits/pods that can be picked to get seeds. Our group members along with school children have so far managed to collect seeds that will take us through to next year’s seed sowing season.

Seed collection will continue until the onset of rains that are likely to come in October. We mostly collected from the indigenous trees that have proved to be sources of nectar and pollen for bees.

Indigenous seeds were collected from the following tree species; Piliostigma thonningii, Mutamba, Vitex payos, Ziziphus mauritiana, Berchemia discolor, Syzygium cordatum, Adansonia digitata, Brachystegia spiciformis, Julbernardia globiflora, Parinari curatelifolia, Uapaca kirkiana, Moringa oleifera, Azanza garckeana, Strychnos spinosa Pterocarpus angolensi, Dichrostachys cinerea, Sclerocarya birrea. We have also done collections of eucalyptus, jacaranda, flamboyant, mango, and avocado.

Seeds collected from Piliostigma thorningii

Azanza garckeana fruits from which seeds are collected

Establishing a plant nursery

Our nursery practice activities are going well on a site we identified to have adequate water, at Makaza Farm near Folkington, Nyazura. We have started activities such as soil collection and sieving, pot filling, laying out beds, seed sowing and watering.

So far, we have sown seeds into 3,000 pots. Germination of seeds has started, and seedlings are looking healthy.

Pots that have been filled with soil

Seedlings of Azanza garckeana

Wildfire management

Since May we have been hit by wildfires in woodlands close to the areas we want to protect and establish trees. Our teams have been involved in firefighting activities on the wildfires that were coming from outside the areas we are working in.

The fire breaks we constructed in June/July helped reduce the spreading of fire through the miombo woodlands and Acacia covered areas we are protecting. The use of simple tools like fire beaters constructed from used up conveyor belts helped!

We are currently at the peak of the fire season where fire danger rating remains in the red mark and our team are always on the lookout for fire outbreaks. We have devised a monitoring statement that involves “Early detection + quick response” so that small fires can be caught early and controlled.

We are engaging our teams in constructing fire breaks in new areas where we are signing agreements for the Bees and Trees project.

Fire break constructed close to the apiary

Fire break constructed between two compartments

This is fantastic progress for the first six months and we are grateful to Robert and his team for pouring so much energy and enthusiasm into it – all possible thanks to our Green Match 2024 donors so thank you once again for making this happen.

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