JUNE 2017 UPDATE FROM THE HONEY VALUE CHAIN

JUNE 2017 UPDATE FROM THE HONEY VALUE CHAIN

The honey value chain is in the third year of implementation!

You would recall that we started in 2014 in Adetsav community in Benue State. We successfully piloted for two years and are convinced beyond doubt that the project is sustainable and can be replicated in other communities with all the accompanying benefits.

It is now time for scaling up.  Some beehives are ready and we are set to go to new sites. We are at the first site and the villagers insisted we must pay them money before we suspend the beehives on their trees. We moved to other villages that enthusiastically agreed to the wealth creation terms we offered and we were accepted.

We are in one of the villages and our beehives are suspended on trees and it is time to take photographs of the benefiting women. And here comes Deborah (not real name). She is very reluctant to come for the photograph but for the fact that it is part of the conditions of having ownership of the beehives.

Deborah with the black eye

Finally she comes; lo and behold there is a fresh bruise right on her face. “What is wrong with your face?” We asked but she would not answer us. Her mother-in-law comes to her rescue to explain, “Deborah is newly married and is not cooperating with her husband in the night!”  Deborah indeed is a teenager!

This is a familiar case among people we work with. Teenage girls are married off; sometimes to husbands they are not in love with but are forced to remain in the union. In communities where we work, girls marry early for a number of reasons. It could be because they are not in school or their parents cannot afford school fees. It could also be because the parents are in need of the bride price. Most bride price ranges between US$150 to US$300! And this is enough to ‘imprison’ a daughter in an unloved marriage for the rest of her life.

Deborah with her beehive

What do we do for Deborah? What do we do to several other women who are in similar situations?  We can empower women with beehives so that they earn some income. They can also join the savings group that we form and can access loans to carry out businesses and to benefit from our capacity building programs. For Deborah, we gave 2 beehives instead of the one we were giving at that time. Income from the beehives will help pay her future children’s school fee so that her children will have a more promising future than hers. It will also give her a voice.

Can you consider impacting the life of people like Deborah with some beehives?

You can also introduce us to people or organizations that are passionate about issues like this. A gift or grant from you will help change the lives of people like Deborah. It will ensure that her children do not end up like her.  That will only happen if she is empowered, if her economic status changes for the better, if she is given a voice and if her capacity is built.

Peter and Charity Ter, +2348036199709, +2348039777988, peter.ter@gmail.com, www.ipbyf.blogspot.com