This will be mostly a picture post for a change since I actually had my camera this time! These pictures were taken at our counterpart workshop at Bee Cause just outside of Banjul at a charitable trust organization promoting sustainable methods of bee keeping in The Gambia. Earlier pictures are from village from the three month challenge capturing moving in, rainy season, etc.
Our IST counterpart workshop was held at Bee Cause since honey production not only can be sold for lots of money, but it promotes not timber forest products since bees like and need trees. Honey harvesting here often involves using destructive practices like burning the hive. This wastes valuable product as wax and smokes/ruins the honey. Bee Cause offers trainings to interested individuals at a beautiful sanctuary landscaped with amazing examples of sustainable agroforestry practices which in turn promote happy and healthy bee populations. One note about beekeeping at the village level is that because this is such a communal culture, beekeepers tend to lose more resources than money earned as family and friends will insist on getting some honey since they are related and since that's the way the culture works here. Village beekeeping has been attempted and has also failed. The best you can hope to do is to find serious counterparts who are on top of their honey harvesting and selling before too many people can badger them about honey they should have.
So enough talk, enjoy the selected photos!
Bee Cause IST counterpart workshop. Beekeeping, honey processing, wax melting, training, and finished tourist grade product featured above.
Roughly from top to bottom: one of my host grandmothers, my garden growing including sorel, okra, and garden beans, host brother and I enjoying a Ramadan lunch for the non-fasters, baby host brother after being drawn on by host sisters, and a village sunset which means so much more during Ramadan!
Our IST counterpart workshop was held at Bee Cause since honey production not only can be sold for lots of money, but it promotes not timber forest products since bees like and need trees. Honey harvesting here often involves using destructive practices like burning the hive. This wastes valuable product as wax and smokes/ruins the honey. Bee Cause offers trainings to interested individuals at a beautiful sanctuary landscaped with amazing examples of sustainable agroforestry practices which in turn promote happy and healthy bee populations. One note about beekeeping at the village level is that because this is such a communal culture, beekeepers tend to lose more resources than money earned as family and friends will insist on getting some honey since they are related and since that's the way the culture works here. Village beekeeping has been attempted and has also failed. The best you can hope to do is to find serious counterparts who are on top of their honey harvesting and selling before too many people can badger them about honey they should have.
So enough talk, enjoy the selected photos!
Bee Cause IST counterpart workshop. Beekeeping, honey processing, wax melting, training, and finished tourist grade product featured above.
I am envious of the opportunity to learn from Bee Cause. Honey bees have moved into an old house on our property and I suspect the old walls are full of honey! Thanks for sharing the photos,
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