Working in partnership with Rotary Club of Portsmouth-Dominica and Rotary Club of Bracebridge- Ontario, Canada – ISRAAID’s Livelihood team implemented another beekeeping project in 2022 called The Nature Isle Beekeeping Project.
This project is fully funded by a Rotary Global Grant. The project targeted women, men, and youth in the North and Southeast of Dominica. Thirty beneficiaries were selected to participate in this training, twenty (20) farmers from the North and ten (10) from the Southeast. In total, there were 17 males and 13 females who participated, with the youngest being a twenty-year-old woman and the oldest, a seventy-year-old woman.
Bees are critical in ensuring pollination takes place for plant life to continue. Unfortunately, due to Hurricane Maria the population of bees in Dominica has depleted and beekeepers lost most of their hives. This project was developed to enhance environmental sustainability as bees are an essential part of the ecosystem. It has the additional benefit of providing an opportunity for participants to increase their
income through beekeeping. The project will also empower farmers, as startup costs can be a barrier to entry into beekeeping. We believe that once the initial investment is made and education provided, beekeeping businesses can thrive. The production of honey is a natural process and once established, requires little financial input. It is expected that the beneficiaries of this project will be able to continue their production into the foreseeable future. There is a very high demand for honey in Dominica and the
Caribbean region and very little supply.
Throughout this two-week training, farmers were trained with the technical skills to grow bees and harvest honey. Training and mentoring were provided on the fundamentals of beekeeping, how to build beehives, manage a small business and food safety standards. At the end of the project, participants will be given a certificate of participation and will be presented with equipment, hives, and safety gears to start their beekeeping venture.
ISRAAID has been working in Dominica since October 2017, following Hurricane Maria. ISRAAID’s work in Dominica focuses on supporting the recovery of communities across the Island. ISRAAID’s work includes extensive programs in the areas of shelter, education, DRR, child protection, livelihoods, and resiliency building by working closely with local actors and social society, communities/community leaders, local businesses, government organizations, and other public and non-governmental organizations.
ISRAAID alongside its partners has been working directly with beneficiaries to develop vocational capacities, business development, and entrepreneurship skills training.
Rotary International is an international service organization that brings together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service. Since it was founded more than 100 years ago, Rotary has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects. Its mission is to advance world understanding, good will and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty. It is a non-political and non-religious organization. The Rotary Clubs of Portsmouth, Dominica, and Bracebridge Canada worked together to prepare a successful grant application to fund the beekeeping project. They were joined in their efforts by the Rotary Club of Kingston, Canada. Six Rotarians from the Canadian clubs travelled to Dominica and have been working with Dominican Rotarians and IsraAid to implement the project.
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