Project activities and responsible actors are discussed under four headings below. A detailed
schedule of project activities in Annex C sets out the specifics of what, who and when.
Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihoods of Emerging Beekeepers
Activities will target 12 emerging beekeepers in 3 primary cooperatives (8 women and 4 men)
around Mossel Bay, Rheenendal and Suurbrak. Those in Mossel Bay are already involved in
beekeeping, and now in the process of forming the Why Honey Mossel Bay primary cooperative
with Riaan Bosch. In Rheenendal and Suurbrak, we have identified two existing primary
cooperatives whose members wish to develop beekeeping as a new activity.
A beekeeping training programme will be designed and conducted by Riaan Bosch. This will
entail some theory initially but be primarily practical in nature. It will be an ongoing process,
starting with a 3 day initial course followed by on-site training visits to the beekeepers twice
every month over the first 6 months, with appropriate scheduling thereafter to be determined
based on the experience gained. The 12 beekeepers will be equipped with items such as clothing
and hives. Mike Allsopp, leading apiculture research in the ARC-Plant Protection Research
Institute, will provide monitoring and auditing of the training programme.
A separate training programme will focus on entrepreneurship and building the beekeepers?
skills in managing their beekeeping as a cooperative enterprise. This will be organized by the
Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda Eden) and their service provider as part of the
process of cooperative development (see below).
A third area of activity is to engage with local health officers to promote natural raw honey as a
health supplement, and make it available through local clinics in the beekeepers? communities.
Riaan Bosch will pursue this in the course of his regular field visits