Following the completion of the Women’s Beekeeping Enterprise Hub in Upper Kitete, Northern Tanzania, group members were hugely motivated to advance their beekeeping skills and develop the 1.5 acres of land awarded to the group by the village government. In January, work commenced with the installation of a water tap at the women's hub that connects to a village tap 200 metres from the site. This was an essential activity for the success of the planned permaculture garden, and the ladies were elated when turning on the tap for the first time. The members of the women's group, supported by our field team, prepared the land for a boundary fence around the hub site, to plant Dovyalis caffra (Michomgoma Cape thorn); a fast-growing dense green shrub that would define the hub site boundary, and protect the garden from livestock such as goats. The permaculture design course took place in February, delivered by two trainers from ECHO East Africa, who brought the materials for designing, shaping, and digging the key elements to the ladies’ multi-purpose garden to promote family nutrition, income generation, and improved soil health techniques. The practical training, delivered at the hub, was hugely enriching for the NARI Women’s Beekeeping Group. One particular workshop was focused on the Chaya vegetable; a green leafy plant that regenerates when planted from a cutting. It is incredibly nutritious, a great source of vitamin C, and fast-growing. The ladies took part in cooking and eating Chaya for the first time, and it was a unanimous success, with every member amazed at the quality and taste of this plant that would provide them with so many benefits both to their health and income streams when sold at the local market.
The workshop continued with the design of the garden to include raised beds, bio-intensive bedding, composting, mulching, kitchen gardens, and fruit tree planting. In addition to this, was the successful installation of a 10,000 litre ‘Hafir’; a household water reservoir that retains at least 70% of water year-round, with only 30% potential of evaporation. It was a huge team effort to dig the reservoir, add the appropriate lining, and complete it with the agricultural netting raised up to create a tent-shaped cover. The Hafir is being used for irrigation on the permaculture garden, providing a reliable water source for the hub, and catchment for ground water run-off from the sloped land above the hub site.
Hub workshops continued into February with the honey & wax processing skill development; including the introduction of a quality control protocol for honey harvested and brought to the hub, wax foundation making (for use with the ladies’ Langstroth beehive frames, and to sell as packs to other beekeepers), and catcher box hanging in trees within the Northern Highlands forest reserve; proactively protecting the forest and promoting coexistence with elephants and other key species that share the biodiverse landscape.