In the Cameroon, honey can be used as an energy-rich food. It is highly prized for its medicinal value or it can be sold to produce cash to pay for education, health treatment of other requirements. Beeswax is an important raw ingredient of candles, body creams, ointments, lotions, soaps and polishes. The project training shows beekeepers exactly how high quality honey and wax can be produced using local technology and how added-value products can be made, used and sold.
The Kom Beekeeping Project was initiated by Brian Durk after a preliminary visit in early 1997. It was the result of a letter published in Beekeeping and Development. Since then, training visits have taken place every autumn, firstly just by Brian and later with Pam Gregory and Shiela Allan.
The project now represents the beekeeping section of Agricultural Rural Development Project (BERUDEP) which is an integrated rural development project and common initiative group located at Belo in the North West Province of Cameroon.
The project was set up to facilitate the development of a centre of beekeeping excellence to act as a resource centre and be staffed by experienced local people to train and advise local farmers in sustainable modern bee farming techniques.
The way the project was designed will enable the beekeeping section of BERUDEP to become self-financing within five years of its inception, so that widespread training and field extension services are funded from effectively-run beekeeping activities. A 300-colony bee farm has been set up. This produces the necessary income to enable the continuation of the work.
Beekeepers are also taught the value of ‘bee-loving’ trees, which will encourage them to preserve and indeed plant more, thus protecting precious forest habitat, reducing erosion and landslides which are common in this steeply mountainous area.
A final bonus is that sustainable beekeeping techniques help to prevent bush fires by using locally made, ‘closed smokers’ of better design, and the use of vetiver grass to act as fire breaks around the hives.
