BEET: Beekeeping for economic empowerment in Tanzania

The BEET project was designed to reduce poverty amongst men and women beekeepers and their families in Tanzania. Traidcraft Exchange worked with beekeepers to improve their beekeeping practices and increase production of bee products.

Hadija, who took part in training sessions organised by Traidcraft Exchange, with her bee hives in Rufiji, Tanzania.

Credit: Kate Holt

Beekeepers organised into groups and to associations to strengthen their bargaining power and gain better access to service providers, in order to receive training and advice on an ongoing basis. The project also trained beekeepers on environmental stewardship, and supported women to gain positions of leadership in the associations.

Project name: Beekeepers’ Economic Empowerment Tanzania (BEET)

Where did we work? Tanzania; districts of Rufiji, Sikonge, and Uyui

How long for? January 2013 – December 2015 (3 years)

Who benefited? 3,136 beekeepers (including 936 women)

Project impact:

• Organised beekeepers into 35 village-level groups and 2 associations

• Increased local honey production by 86% (target was 20%)

• Increased incomes from beekeeping by 67% on average (target was 25%)

• Enabled beekeeping groups to store honey after harvesting, when prices are at their lowest, in order to sell it 2-3 months later and receive prices that are up to 83% higher

• Enabled women to take on over 50% of leadership positions in the groups

Who did we work with? The Project was funded with support from Comic Relief and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

For more information about this project, please contact programmes@transform-trade.org

To learn more about our honey programme in East Africa, please have a read of our Programme Briefing.