Success inspires more work with women beekeepers in Uganda
Blog by William Van Blyderveen
Posted: 18 July 2024
The Teso Region of East Uganda suffers from lack of natural resources, which leads to violent conflicts – one of the main causes of poverty in the region.
The Karimojong, agro-pastoralists graze their cattle and sheep in Teso region during the dry season and return to their own traditional grazing areas when the rains start. This, coupled with the long droughts have left majority of the community, especially the active but poor youth, women, and people with disabilities, vulnerable and in need of climate-resilient livelihoods.
Women are especially vulnerable. In Uganda, only 39% of women are employed compared with 54% of men. Women also have a limited say in the use of household income and benefit less from it. By giving women equal opportunities for employment, business, and a voice in the use of household income, they and their children will benefit.
Teso sub-region of Uganda (Jatho et al. 2020)
Over the past year, The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation (TUNADO) and Bees for Development have reached 120 people in northern Uganda, including 17 women with a disability, with support from the Welsh Government’s Wales Africa Grant Scheme. TUNADO trained beekeepers to make bee hives and how to harvest and process honey.
Training has now begun in the Teso region of Uganda, teaching a new group of women beekeeping and agroforestry skills. The beekeepers will also be provided with high value tree seedlings such as macadamia and cashew.
TUNADO and Bees for Development bring men and women together for beekeeping training. Using the Gender Action Learning Approach (GALS), couple goals are created for beekeeping and for the household. As a result, women are more active in beekeeping – making bee hives, harvesting, and selling honey and beeswax.
This allows women to establish their own enterprises as well as create discussion around the use of household income. Previous participants have mentioned the power of beekeeping in empowering them and benefiting their entire household. For example, Rose Akello from Adjumani, Uganda stated:
“I will continue adding more bee hives like I have already started. …I find it easy for me as a woman. … honey has a good market. I am now a member of our village savings group. I saved some money to pay for my children’s school fees and built us a good house with bricks and iron sheets.”
– Rose Akello
Hope, TUNADO’s project manager meeting with new beekeepers.
The beekeepers were also linked to Jephina Honey, a woman owned honey enterprise. By May 2024, 102 women beekeepers had harvested and sold 2,012 kgs of honey, worth approximately £4,370, for an average of £43 each. This is a significant income with the average annual income from £700/year.
Building on this success, the new work in the Teso region will reach an additional 100 women beekeepers and their families.
To support this and other work, please visit here.
We would like to thank the Wales Africa Grant Scheme, administered by WCVA for their support of our work empowering women beekeepers in Uganda.
