Bees – our “employers”

84 future beekeepers from Kafountine and the surrounding communities have started their training!

The wooden boards for the bee houses have been delivered and must be cut to size. The children are happy to help and enjoy in return a healthy lunch. The classes, led by Nouha Diatta, are very intensive. He puts great emphasis on learning the work correctly and accurately. Accurate work is very important for later success. With a lot of dedication the young men and women build their beehives in wonderful flower colors – the most beautiful beehives far and wide! A good prerequisite for the success of the training with the goal of becoming a good beekeeper. We are incredibly happy about the great progress and about the fact that women as well as men are at work with such enthusiasm.

1500 frames still need to be built for the 300 finished bee houses. This is millimeter work and requires precise and patient work. It’s fortunate that the long rainy season is over and the beekeeping workshops can take place outdoors.

The 300 bee houses are prepared to be placed on trees in Kafountine, the surrounding communities and on the islands. The bees need a lot to drink, so water sources will be placed near the apiaries and water will also be sprayed into the houses. So the bees have only short distances to find drinking water and are therefore more balanced and not aggressive. Weekly the activity is controlled. Until bees move into the houses, it can take a few days or even a few weeks. However, our colorful houses were so well received by the bees that the first colonies moved in immediately after completion, while still in the storage room. A good omen!

THANK YOU, Nouha Diatta – and THANK YOU to the Development Policy Advisory Board of Salzburg for supporting our projects again and again!