with the old sweat of the brow ... things like honey
(the sweetness) could be coming to our doorsteps.
The picture above is that of what they call here ...
a bee box.
This is actually an interesting and not an all too
common story in the world of small scale development.
There are two brothers who live in the village, David
and Paulus. They are good guys and seem a little bit
more with it than what is the norm here.
About a month after I first arrived, David mentions to
me that his brother, Paulus, would like to talk to me
about writing a proposal for something to do with a bee
project. Of course I said sure, but with some doubts as
to where it was heading.
It took another 2 months to sit down together to get
something on paper in which they could send up to
the Capital (Windhoek) to see if they could get something
in the works.
As I sat with them and asked them a few questions, it became
apparent that these are about the only guys I've seen in the
last nine years who actually deserve what they are asking
for.
Here's how the story goes ...
In 2005 a small NGO (non-governmental organization) arrived
with, at the time was a bee keeping project. The project was
actually not all that bad and it gave the participants, the
information they needed and 4 bee boxes per to begin in the
world of beekeeping.
The classes were in session for at least a week with a lot of
hands on in the mix of it all. The bee boxes they received at
the time came in from Kenya and cost N$ 400 Namibian dollars
or at today's prices, $40 USD. These were pretty expensive for
the time and even now, for the cost of within the living scale
here, still on the pricey side.
So, these brothers take the boxes and the NGO leaves and
fast forwarding to when I arrive, they guys are working
along with their boxes non-stop for the last 4 years. The side
note here is that ... that usually just doesn't happen. The
normal situation is that they work the boxes till they get
some honey, eat the money (no pun there, just fact) then
lose enthusiasm and the boxes start to just plain deteriorate
into some village historical legend of oblivion.
When these guys told me that they've been at it all this time,
I actually thought that they were embellishing a bit, but they
weren't.
Now, the thoughts of, why didn't they take some of the money
they made from selling a little honey and put it back into
expanding the business. That was my initial thought.
But after doing a little math, there was honestly, no way,
that they could have expanded the business. The NGO
made a slight mistake by giving only 4 boxes and not following
up later to see if the project would fly. Doing a little calculations
it seemed that if they would have had at least 20 boxes, then
they would have had the leeway to invest. They both have
families and mouths to feed, so either the honey or the little
profits, were consumed out of necessity.
So, after hearing their story and kind of feeling their frustration
at having a little bit of a hard time to get this going, I helped
them form a logical, legitimate argument as to why these guys
should get a little support.
Again in the world of small scale development projects like
this, it is just so rare to see people take what was given to
them and use it in an appreciative, honest to the spirit of
the project, manner.
The results were that, the people in Windhoek totally agreed
with our argument. One of the local representatives of another
NGO that works with those types of projects, have basically
given them the support they are looking for.
Now they have 11 bee boxes with another 6 coming soon.
This morning I met one of the brothers and we went out
to look at the bee boxes that are in place and it was a great
opportunity to talk about the status of their project.
I was really impressed with what I heard and saw.
The bees need flowers for they process of making honey. If
not they use sugar as a substitute. Here is a interesting little
tidbit (if it's true) ... is that an expert from the States told them
that using sugar wasn't so good as it had a tendency to give
the bees diarrhea. Really, that's what I was told.
Here in Namibia the seasons are two basically, one dry and
one with rain. So, flowers could be a challenge for supplying
the bees with what they need to make honey in the dry season.
But Paulus told me that they are in the process of preparing
about what would be, an hectare of space dedicated to bees
only. They will plant what is considered a shrub or bush that
flowers non-stop year round. Put up a fence and it should be
really nice when completed.
I wish them all the luck and will help them where I can.
An interesting side story that came about during the conversation
has a connection with this prior article Friday in the center of town.
It seems that the guy that drove his tractor up to it's axle on the
newly finished netball court, lives in the general vicinity of where
the bee boxes are located. So, he goes out and buys a couple
cans of spray and starts taking out the bees.
The brother told me that when he arrived the ground was
literally covered with bee corpses.
The end result was that the guy (named Bumbo but should
really be called Dumb-o) had to pay a fine and restitution and the
brothers are even getting a promise from the regional governor
that he will support their project in the full extent of his jurisdiction.
I think it is one of those decent stories that depict the struggle
that goes on out here in the bush when someone decides to
try and change their destiny.
For me, it is truly refreshing to be around a couple of guys who
get it and it is easy to want to see them succeed.
Plus, having a whole lot of honey around isn't a bad thing at
all. The tea should become immediately of serious quality out
here with that honey.
I'm liking these guys' project.
No comments:
Post a Comment