Wilderness Safaris� NGO trains on beekeeping
Correspondent | Wednesday June 8, 2016 16:18
The training was officially opened by the Headman of Beetsha village and was facilitated by the Beekeeping Coordinator from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ntsie. The workshop was held at Beetsha village and was attended by 2 groups: Beetsha and Gunotsoga Adult Eco-Clubs.
The training was attended by 20 members, being seven Adult-Eco Club members: two members Eco-Club members from Beetsha Primary School, School Head, two teachers from Beetsha, five Adult Eco-Club members from Gunotsoga, two teachers from Gunotsoga and the facilitator, Ntsie.
Discussions at the workshop covered the following topics:
- l Introduction of beekeeping
- l Importance of bees
- l How to start a beekeeping project
- l Types of bee hives
- l Bee biology
- l Apiary and layout
- l Colony capturing
- l Feeding bees
- l Colony inspection and harvesting
- l Honey pests and protection
- l Record keeping
Ntsie, taught the adults theory and had a practical session as well, which the members really enjoyed. He encouraged the groups to take care of the bees as they were a source of income, food, medicine and also part of the environment. He also outlined materials needed to start a bee-keeping project. In addition, he taught them that the apiary should be 100m away from a village to avoid conflict between human beings and bee. It should have windbreaks, pasture, near water and have shade.
They were also advised that the apiary should be closed to avoid honey being eaten by other bees or being stung by bees while harvesting. The Adult Eco-Clubs were advised to wear protective clothes and to use smokers. They also did a practical exercise of capturing bees for their projects.
They were advised how to feed the bees with a mix of warm water and sugar in times of drought.
Furthermore, the trainees were encouraged to do colony inspections and harvest the honey. Ntsie gave examples of pests that they will come across and how to avoid them in beekeeping. Lastly, he taught them record keeping and its importance to the project.
The two groups went into the field to capture bees and do every step they were taught in class. The facilitator was impressed as the adults did everything correctly and managed to capture some bees and find a good place to keep them.
The facilitator advised them to take care of the bees and promised them that he would visit them to check their progress.
Wilderness Safaris