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“I saw some neighbors keeping bees and they were getting money. They would just make the local hives, put them there and at the end, they harvest a lot of money. And people buy it, even before it reaches the market. I also realized that the neighbors do less work on it, so, I got motivated to start mine. Now I am happy I started it because I am now getting money.”
The Life as Beekeeper
Who belongs to your family / who is living with you?
My name is Mike Endreonzi. I am a bee farmer and I am married. I have four children, So, in total we are six in the family.
How has bee keeping changed your life?
Apart from money I get from gardening, I also started getting additional money from selling honey. I use this money to support my family. Now my family has that source of income to improve our livelihood. We can afford basic necessities like soap, sugar, salt etc. My family is happy. Obviously it is not enough, but it helps.
How do you provide a good environment for your bees?
Generally, the area where I keep my hives is a garden field, so it is always clean and with crops. I think that is good for the bees because they get food from the flowers on the crops. Every time I am working in the garden here in the morning, I see a lot of bee moving on the flowers. I feel happy because I know they are doing some work for me.
They have water nearby – the one we use for watering some crops during dry season. So, their environment is good.
What do trees mean to you and how can they be protected?
Obviously trees are important. You can see I am using these ones for putting my hives. If they were not there, I would not be keeping these bees here. I think I need to plant more in this area to support this project. And sometimes when you have worked and you are tired, or if they bring for you food while still working in the garden, you go and sit under the tree to eat that food. So that shade is very important. Year, especially during dry season when the sun can really be hot.
Yes, people cut a lot of trees. They have almost finished trees in this place. But now they can’t cut these ones where I have placed my hives. I protect them. That’s why I need to plant more because they are not enough.
What is the most important thing in your life?
The most important thing in my life is GOD. The second is my family.
What are your biggest challenges and how do you plan to overcome them?
As a peasant, my biggest challenge is low yields from farming. The land is not very fertile. You work hard, year in year out, but you get poor returns. So, I thought of finding another solution. That is why I started bee keeping. Since I am getting some money from bee keeping, I plan to save more and acquire bigger land so that I can increase my income to address this challenge.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Staying with friends during my free time makes me feel good because you get ideas out there. It makes me feel happy in my life. I enjoy that so much.
Which place would you like to see once?
Any……any place where I can be taken, I would go.
