THE OLIVE BRANCH FOR CHILDREN
sustainable beekeeping
The Olive Branch for Children (TOBFC) plants fruit trees as part of our Reforestation and Revitalization Climate Care program. These trees provide food and shade for communities and help to mitigate soil erosion. They also need to be pollinated.
Our Sustainable Beekeeping program helps to increase pollinators in the environment using responsible husbandry approaches. It also fuses environmental action with income security and financial independence for vulnerable members of the community.
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ensuring the highest sustainable standards
TOBFC wants to ensure that we properly resource this program to foster the highest ethical standards and best practices in beekeeping techniques. To support this goal, one of our staff members received formal apiculture training. Romah attended Marian University Bagamoyo to be certified as a professional apiarist. The apiarist program has since moved to the Sokoine University of Agriculture.
When TOBFC receives a request from a group to join our Sustainable Beekeeping program, our apiarist immediately undertakes a site visit to ensure the environment is appropriate for ethical beekeeping. The location cannot be too dry and must provide year-round access to water and food for the bees. The location must meet these criteria for the group to be included in the TOBFC Sustainable Beekeeping program.
community beekeeping groups​​
Groups that approach TOBFC to receive support through the Sustainable Beekeeping program fit into three different categories. These include:
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vulnerable women, disabled and older adults and some youth,
all with no beekeeping experience -
beekeepers with some experience using traditional local practices
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experienced beekeepers that require minimal support
The program support is tiered to match the level of assistance each group requires.
Examples of people in the first category include single mothers, older women caring for their grandchildren, women with no farmland, and youth with no farmland who have not finished secondary school. These groups receive the most training and support from our TOBFC staff apiarist. Each group receives a complete beekeeping kit that includes a bee suit, large protective boots, gloves, cleaning and opening tools for the hives, and a smoker. They are also provided with beehives. They learn how to care for bees and harvest honey and wax from the beehives.
Groups that follow local practices usually require some beekeeping supplies but not a full kit. Our TOBFC apiarist assists groups in this second category, including formally registering with the government as an income-generating group as required by law.
Beekeeping groups in the third category usually have most of the equipment they require but TOBFC will supplement any missing elements. These beekeepers have formally registered with the government in most cases.
education, support, and connections
All beekeeping groups learn about marketing, environmental issues, basic financial literacy, efficient business techniques, and savings and household financial management. This ensures that all participants receive the necessary skills training to support their success.
Our staff apiarist provides ongoing support to the participating groups. This includes assistance to harvest all of the beehives. TOBFC also helps the groups connect to markets to sell their honey. TOBFC is hoping to purchase equipment in 2025 to grade the honey produced through this program, which will enhance the value of the production. Currently, TOBFC is working with the District Bee Specialist on establishing a beekeepers’ association.
By joining our Sustainable Beekeeping program, groups interested in or already practising beekeeping receive formalized expert assistance in ethical beekeeping practises that support long-term success. They also connect with a thriving community where they benefit from shared experiences and an active support network.
As a key part of our Climate Care initiatives, our Sustainable Beekeeping program provides targeted climate action while addressing gender equity, support for vulnerable women, and income security.
