LocationsTo make 1kg of honey, a bee must visit 4 million flowers and fly 4 times the distance around the world. - Photo credit: Boris Smokrovic
"Being an only daughter, the beekeeping training sessions were my first step towards becoming a financially stable, independent woman,” says Mirna, a young emerging beekeeper from Gharifeh, Mount Lebanon. Mirna was one of the 150 youth from all over Lebanon who were introduced to one of nature’s most rewarding endeavors based on an assessment conducted by UNDP demonstrating market demand.
“We are training beekeepers on how to best implement advanced techniques and make use of the beehives and gears they’ve received,” says trainer Nahida Salha, Chairperson of the Maten Al Aala Beekeepers Cooperative that has benefited from a prior UNDP intervention for beekeepers.
UNDP, in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs, within the framework of the Lebanon Host Communities Support Programme – LHSP, and through funds from the Netherlands, is training over 2,500 existing beekeepers in collaboration with the Lebanese Agriculture Research Institute (LARI). This specific activity trained 30 individuals to become beekeeping trainers themselves.
Bees, the only insects in the world that produce human food, offer sweet opportunities!
A major component of the initiative includes the development of an early warning system that can reduce the risk of environmental disasters affecting beekeeping and improve beekeepers’ ability to respond to them through using a mobile application platform.
Mirna’s experience with beekeeping has taken her further than expected. Inspired by the hard-working bees, she is also pursuing her university education while connecting with nature - a place she now calls home.
