JUNE 2017 UPDATE FROM THE HONEY VALUE CHAIN

RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERED WITH BEEHIVES.

In 2014, the Children’s Mission of Sweden approved and disbursed $10,000.00 through the Navigators Nigeria for a beehive empowerment scheme among rural, poor and oral women in Nigeria. The project was implemented among the poor, the rural and oral people in Nigeria. From the grant, 204 hives were constructed and given free of charge to women in Adetsav and Hege villages. No preconditions were required.

In these communities most women have no trade and hence no sources of income; they help their husbands with farm work but have no part in the ownership of the crops. The women completely depend on their husbands for handouts to meet even the basic personal feminine needs. It is understood that lack of funds and entrepreneurship skills were the greatest hindrances to the women.

Sarah with her beehive

To solve this problem, we empowered the women with the beehives and organised them into savings groups where they pool their meager resources and borrow from it. The women meet regularly. The group meetings has become an avenue for community development, entrepreneurship skills transfer and discipleship modelling.

Sarah (not real name), a member of one of the communities sells fish to augment the family income. But the business was not flourishing due to inadequate funding and lack of business skills. When the savings group started, she was among the first to borrow money. She used the money to increase her stock. She successfully repaid her loan and took several more, paying back each before taking the next. 

Sarah with her fried fish for sale

We spoke to her recently.  She says “this savings group meeting is helping me, I am learning to be more prudent in my business” She continues “now my business is growing because I have a place I can borrow money without begging, no hard conditions and no exorbitant interest charges. I used to buy a few fish to fry and sell but now I buy a whole carton.” Again she testified, “when it was time for me to deliver our second baby and my husband had no money, we were forced to use up all the profit that had accumulated from the fish business to pay the hospital bills. But a loan from the savings group recapitalised my business” She also said, “Now my husband has lots of respect for me, I am no longer completely dependent on him economically, I am also a contributor to meeting our family needs.” She reminded us that she has also been paid money for the honey that was harvested from her two beehives. Sarah was quick to say: "this is  the best scheme this village has ever had. We have seen lots of empowerment schemes but there is none like this one." 

There are several women like Sarah in the communities where we work. Imagine empowering them with beehives and clustering them into savings groups where they can save, borrow and carry out entrepreneurship activities. Now, can you imagine the transformation that will be accomplished? Can you imagine the livelihood changes that will be achieved as women are empowered in the scheme? Can you imagine the future generations that will be secured if the school fees of their children are paid from activities of the scheme? It is possible. We have seen it work. You can contribute to this success story too.

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