Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Hives Save Lives

This article is an example of combating poverty by introducing a small business, this one based on beekeeping:

Hives Save Lives
While searching for a viable grassroots approach to directly combat poverty in Africa, Richard Urwin, an international businessman, looked to honey 
bees for an answer. 

Although apiculture, or beekeeping as it is better known, has a long tradition in Africa, it is not normally practiced as a commercial activity. ‘Honey hunting’ is a more conventional way of harvesting, but the natural 
colonies and log hives are often damaged in the process.
Tags: economics, good news, nature, news
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  • 9 comments
fayanora

fayanora

July 6 2009, 09:24:04 UTC 11 years ago Edited:  July 6 2009, 09:24:44 UTC

Beekeeping? In Africa? Sounds like a dangerous job to me. I'd rather get a job juggling AIDS-infected chainsaws.

Just to clarify this: I said this because killer bees are also known as Africanized bees.
ysabetwordsmith

Hmm...

ysabetwordsmith

July 6 2009, 16:57:09 UTC 11 years ago

I too wondered about the safety of beekeeping in Africa. However, the really bad reports I've heard about killer bees are from the Americas. It is possible that the African environment has better ways of handling the aggressive African bees where they evolved.
fayanora

Re: Hmm...

fayanora

July 7 2009, 01:17:45 UTC 11 years ago

Possible indeed. Hadn't thought of that myself.
dulcinbradbury

dulcinbradbury

July 6 2009, 12:38:20 UTC 11 years ago

This is one of the reasons I really like Heifer International. Their approach is to provide tools to get out of poverty.
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

July 6 2009, 17:09:42 UTC 11 years ago

That is one of my favorite charities too.
catherinew

catherinew

July 6 2009, 15:07:25 UTC 11 years ago

Disclosure: I work for CharityUSA.com and volunteer time for GreaterGood.org, a nonprofit whose "Gifts That Give More" program lets donors directly fund projects like these through charity partners like Mercy Corps, Partners in Health, and dozens more.

Here are two similar Gifts That Give More to the one you highlighted in this story:

Plant a Garden for Health in Rwanda - $15 funds a home garden in Rwanda, including tree seedlings and enough vegetable seedlings for a year, through Gardens for Health.

Beekeeping Training in Central America - $65 trains a small-scale coffee farmer in Central America -- where wildly fluctuating coffee prices have caused economic upheaval -- in beekeeping as another income source. Charity partner is Mercy Corps' Small Species Program.

Here is the Hunger & Poverty cause page that shows all the hunger-related Gifts That Give More in one place.

Managing the Gifts That Give More program is a large part of my job, so I think every day about ways to help... but getting the word out is one of the hardest parts. I hope you don't mind me sneaking into your thread to post about this. If so, feel free to delete.

I've found that in my friends group here in America, there's a strong tendency to assume that just because we can't fix the whole problem, there is nothing to be done except let those parts of the world self-destruct. I don't believe that's true.
ysabetwordsmith

Thank you!

ysabetwordsmith

July 6 2009, 17:07:24 UTC 11 years ago

Your charity work is appreciated.

In general, whenever I'm posting resources, comments with related resources are welcome. Supporting or countervailing viewpoints and evidence are also welcome.

Gardens for Health sounds especially clever. Has your organization explored permaculture techniques? I've been reading about those recently; permaculture creates cooperative communities of plants (and animals) that buffer against extreme environmental conditions while providing food and other resources.

>>Managing the Gifts That Give More program is a large part of my job, so I think every day about ways to help... but getting the word out is one of the hardest parts.<<

I have two ideas:

1) Would you like to be interviewed on my blog Gaiatribe?
2) If your charity isn't already listed on Change.org that's a great place for networking.

>>I've found that in my friends group here in America, there's a strong tendency to assume that just because we can't fix the whole problem, there is nothing to be done except let those parts of the world self-destruct. I don't believe that's true.<<

I don't consider myself responsible for saving the whole world, just for working on the parts of it within my reach. Everyone picks what cause(s) they want to support. I've found that the most effective method usually involves some version of creating a small sustainable project that functions well. That can then be expanded, replicated, and customized for use in other areas. If a whole system is really broken, it usually can't be fixed all at once. Either you get one part working at a time and connect them, or you chuck the junk and start from scratch building one workable part at a time. Teams working together can sometimes repair or build different parts at the same time and then connect them, but that takes more networking skill.
catherinew

Re: Thank you!

catherinew

July 7 2009, 03:36:00 UTC 11 years ago

"I don't consider myself responsible for saving the whole world, just for working on the parts of it within my reach."

*nod* That's how I feel, too. And the internet means that more is within our reach than ever before!

I'd be willing to talk for an interview, absolutely, and thanks for your interest! I'll drop a message in your LJ inbox.
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Thank you!

ysabetwordsmith

July 7 2009, 05:04:52 UTC 11 years ago

Okay, great. I'll email you the interview questions. I've done email interviews before and find that it works very well.