Building up the Bees in Haiti

By -
This post contains excerpts and photos from Dr. Michael Bauer's trip report about his recent F2F assignment in Haiti. 

"The bee industry in Haiti is still in its infancy. Despite deforestation and parasitic damage from diseases like the wax moth and varroa mites there is still great growth potential. There continues to be a high level of interest in beekeeping and a strong desire to become a beekeeper.  This assignment was intended to educate both potential beekeepers as well as to expand the knowledge base of current beekeepers. Return visits to sites where I had been on previous assignments was a strong desire of mine to see the impact of those sessions and to see what knowledge and skills were implemented in the group and individual bee colonies."


May 30, 2015: At one training at a Gonaive cooperative, "many of the attendees were students from a local agriculture college. They had had a brief introduction to beekeeping from their institution. This session included basic beekeeping, bee biology, bee life cycle, beekeeping equipment and its uses."

 "There is a robust system of beekeeper associations in Haiti.  This provides a forum for transfer of information and beekeeping techniques as well as recruitment of new people, both men and women, into beekeeping." 


May 27, 2015: "Working with CODCOA cooperative members at an apiary [...] We placed a high degree of importance on trying to alleviate fear and helping participants develop comfort with colony manipulation. For some attendees, this was their first look inside a bee colony."




 May 29, 2015: "Field day in ARAM apiary.  This was intended for experienced beekeepers and was a return visit for me to this apiary.  I was encouraged to see there had been substantial improvement in colony health and strength since my last visit.  Educational topics included colony management, disease detection, prevention, and treatment.  The majority of time was spent on identification of hygienic queen behavior and queen rearing techniques." 


 "As on prior visits it is noted there is significant variability in the level of expertise of current beekeepers.  A good deal of transferred knowledge is based on tradition and handed down experience, not necessarily best practices.  Attendees were eager for education and anxious to become beekeepers themselves with the best preparation they could get."

 "It was again my absolute joy to be a Farmer-to-Farmer beekeeping volunteer to Haiti. While beekeeping is not my primary profession it is certainly my passion.  It is my hope to spread that passion to those that will sit and listen to me chat endlessly about beekeeping. One thing I learned on this trip was after 6 hours of “bee chat” in the heat of the day others might not be quite as passionate as I am to continue to talk about bees!  Just saying. I would certainly hope to return to Haiti in the future."
                                                                                                                  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Better Marketing and Communications to Showcase the Work of our Hosts in Colombia

By -
Image
Salva Terra Foundation has focused on supporting vulnerable communities through sustainable agriculture. They work with impoverished populations and victims of violence in Medellin and aim to promote farming and develop local skills to work in the agricultural industry in an ecological manner. This process of bringing together concepts such as social impact, sustainable development, environmental protection, and food security requires excellent outreach and promotion. Therefore, they requested a F2F volunteer to help them develop a communication and marketing plan. The chosen volunteer for this assignment was Dr. Sindy Chapa. She has a B.A. in Mass Media Communications, with a Minor in Television and Art Design, an MBA, and Ph.D. in International Business/Marketing. She is the Director and Associate Professor at the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University and has won several communications awards. Dr. Chapa decided to use Salva Terra as one of the case
Read more

My First Goat: A Professor, Students, and some Goats Tackle Food Insecurity in Rural Guatemala

By -
Image
Two Worlds Come Together to Build New Solutions against Malnutrition What does a USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) expert volunteer group from the island of Puerto Rico have to do with combatting food insecurity in Guatemala? Everything.  F2F volunteer Gabriela Colón Rios trains Mam Indigenous women to better care for their goats which will improve food security and reduce high malnourishment rates. Chiantla, Guatemala. Photo Credit: Monica Gonzalez In March 2023, a group of five eager F2F volunteers arrived in Huehuetenango (Huehue), Guatemala, with hearts and minds set on combatting food insecurity in a part of the world unknown to them.  Over the next 10 days, this team of experts would consider Huehue, in Guatemala’s Western Highland region, their new home and office. Accompanying them on their mission would be faithful companions and mighty conduits of change: goats.  Communities in this region live at altitudes reaching 10,000 feet above sea level nestled by captivating mountai
Read more

Digital Marketing in Colombia

By -
Image
Digital Marketing is one way that entrepreneurs and producers across the globe can reach new markets and increase sales. But what is digital marketing and how can a small Colombian business use it to maximize the number of people who come across its brand? These are the questions that Zen Naturals was asking itself. Zen Naturals is a natural cosmetic manufacturing company based in Cali, Colombia. Zen Naturals develops natural cosmetics made from exotic ingredients from Colombia’s outstanding biodiversity. Through ethical manufacturing and fair trade practices, they are also taking a leadership role in re-investing in the communities that grow the ingredients used in their products. Currently, Zen Naturals supports more than 95 Colombian quinoa farming communities through Fair-Trade Practices and technical assistance on their production. Zen Naturals is preparing to launch their quinoa facial care products in Whole Foods Markets in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. in 2017.
Read more