“ I started doing bee keeping using local hives, and I could get good money when my wife sells the honey in the local market. That is when I realized that there is money in bee keeping. So, I got motivated and then I started acquiring improved KTB Hives to increase production.
But I still keep the local hives, but now I have also improved them. I can now use the local hives for even three years. Since that time, I have never looked back. With the support we now get from Honey Pride Arua and the promise for good market, I want to increase my hives so that I get more money.“
The Life as Beekeeper
Who belongs to your family / who is living with you?
Me, my wife and 3 of my children. I also take care of 2 orphans. So, we are about 7 in the home.
How has beekeeping changed your life?
Yes, It has helped me a lot to support my family because it provides me with additional revenue. When you use the money from sale of honey very well, that alone can take you for months. So, we are not doing very badly.
How do you provide a good environment for your bees?
By protecting the trees where I keep the beehives. And sometimes, provide them water, especially during dry season. But they do much of the work themselves
What do trees mean to you and how can they be protected?
Trees are very important to me as a bee keeper. Without trees, bee keeping would be difficult. One way to protect them is really to ensure they are not cut or burnt into charcoal.
What is the most important thing in your life?
I want my family to be well and my children to get educated so that they have better future.
What are your biggest challenges and how do you plan to overcome them?
One of my biggest challenges is lack of space or farmland for cultivating crops and of course for my bee keeping. As you can see, my apiary is near homestead and we sometimes had issues with neighbors, but now it is resolved. But I still need to do more to secure the place may be with proper
fencing. Secondly, I lack transport, so I need something like a motor cycle. My plan to overcome
this is to look for money so that I can may be go and buy some fairly big land elsewhere so I can expand my activities and also save money to buy a motorcycle.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Most times I am not free. But once in a while I go and relax with friends or buy something good and enjoy with my family.
Which place would you like to see once?
China. I would want to reach China…