The project is designed to work with 150 beneficiaries (100 women and 50men) engaged in harmful livelihood activities of the ravage harvests and export of rare and threatened species of tropical hardwood(timber) supported by swarms of foreign companies. It will be implemented in the mountain forest in three communities (Dainebellifeh, Kasunya, and Badela) in the Kamadu-Yiraia Chiefdom, Falaba District, Northern Sierra Leone.

The inhabitants of these communities are faced with the problem of extensive timber trade that threatens the mountain biodiversity. This situation has induced forest fragmentation and threatened the native fauna and flora species endemic to the mountain forest vegetation, fluctuating rainfall and reduced soil fertility such that the populations steadily face decline in agricultural productivity leading to hunger and malnutrition.

Studies have shown that the presence of bees can increase crop yields of insect pollinated species by more than two-third. Honey

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being one component of bee hive products attracts premium price making it a valuable commodity for incomes generation for the forest edge communities. When properly managed, the honey value chain can employ about 25% of rural forest edge populations and minimizes the huge investment needed for conservation of the forests.
The selected beneficiaries are groups of ten timber logging and slash and burn farming groups as a pilot. If hugely successful, this project can minimized the 25-30% of current rate of timber harvest and export from Kamadu-Yiraia Chiefdom, Falaba District, Northern Sierra Leone. This success story can be replicated in the other Chiefdoms in Falaba District.

The traditional beekeeping in these selected communities has span for several decades and the use of modern hives and other technologies that this project introduces are innovative. The modern beekeeping technologies enable farmers to produce large quantities of safe organic honey, and earn improved revenues. The project shall work with Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security and the Ministry of Environment, Environment Protection Agency to employs regulatory frameworks and strengthens District Environment and Social Officers to protect what remains of the mountain forests. More importantly, this project shall build the institutional infrastructure for promoting beekeeping as an economic activity in the chiefdom. The project provides technical and financial supports to improve the potentials of target beneficiaries to enter lucrative organic markets including certification for the European Union (EU) and United States (US).

This project has a twin objectives for the target population, to address food security, nutrition and health on one hand and employment and wealth creation on the other .

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