Tuesday, 15th May 2018, a delegation composed of DFID and Ikiraro project visited DUTUBUREBUKI, a beekeeping cooperative supported by the Pro-Be Project implanted by FIOM Rwanda. This cooperative is located at in Kabura cell, Kabarondo sector of Kayonza district in the Eastern Province.
The cooperative counts 31 members, including 19 women. Six of its members are young beekeepers, and a good number of women and youth have requested to join the cooperative. Members of the cooperative own 160 beehives which are individually owned.
With the support of the Pro-Bee project, members of the cooperative project to more than double their beehive productivity, from 5 to more than 15 kilograms of honey per beehive. Honey produced by the cooperative is collected at Kabarondo Honey Collection Center, built by FIOM Rwanda
Beekeepers explained to the visitors that FIOM Rwanda helped them to develop skills through training, but also helped them connecting with other beekeeping value chain stakeholders, mainly public institutions and financial institutions. This helped them to gain additional knowledge and access to other resources such as acquiring loans to invest in more honey production and processing materials.
Speaking to the visitors, Bahigi Etienne, a 48 year old beekeeper who owns 42 beehives, said that beekeeping helped him to lift out of poverty, and this happened because of the synergy among beekeepers, the various local administration entities and the support offered by public institutions to overcome daily challenges faced by beekeepers inside Dutuburubuki Cooperative. Taking advantage of this beekeeping environment and through technical support offered by FIOM Rwanda through Pro-Bee project, he confessed to have been able to build his own home, expand his beekeeping business and invest in other income generating activities. For him, the future is highly promising, with the expected doubling of honey production and enhanced access to the market.Mukabahigi Providence is the Vice Chairperson for Dutuburubuki Cooperative. She joined six months ago following a mobilization campaign that encouraged her to join the cooperative. Before joining, she only had one beehive that she secretly entertained because of fear that women are not fit for beekeeping. She now has 18 beehives, and she has developed skills to make beehives by herself. On the top of that, she has been elected Vice chairperson for Dutuburubuki. Although she is a widow with four children, she is able to meet school needs for her two young children, and she is not worried about the future. She enjoys beekeeping profession and plans to invest in eleven (11) new beehives this coming season.
Dutuburubuki has also opened its doors for the youth. Mr Tuyishime Jean Merci 25 year’s old beekeepers joined seven months ago and he currently owns 20 beehives. He explained to the delegation that being members of the cooperative has helped a lot in the areas of technical capacity development to modernize his beekeeping activities.
Before visiting the cooperative, the delegation made a courtesy visit to the District of Kayonza, where it had a brief conversation with the Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs. The Vice Mayor indicated that FIOM Rwanda has been a reliable partner for promoting the beekeeping value chain in Kayonza District. She also indicated that the District has a long term vision for developing the beekeeping value chain through the Local Economic Development Plan for the District, and that they count on FIOM Rwanda as a key partners in that program. She indicated that one of the things they look forward setting up is a small honey processing factory in Kayonza.
The Pro-Bee project is funded by Palladium International ltd via the multi-donor civil society support program (Ikirarora cy’Iterambere). The visiting team comprised the Program Manager at DFID, as well as the Team Leader for Ikiraro Program, Mr. Phanindra Adhikary. FIOM Rwanda General Coordinator, Mr. Janvier Rukwatage was also with the delegation
