US Deputy Chief of Mission launches Self-Help Project

On March 26, 2007 the Deputy Chief of Mission, David Gilmour, launched a $1,200 bee hives construction project funded through the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund.  The funds were used to electrify one carpentry workshop and provide table saws to two carpenters.  The carpenters are now making hundreds of Malawi Standard Top Bar Hives (SMTHs) for local bee farmers at a reduced price of MK1,500 each.  (Price represents 50% of the current market price of hives) 

This bee hives project aims to promote beekeeping as an income generating activity in Nchenachena Village and in the communities bordering the Nyika National Park in Rumphi District of Northern Malawi, where traditional bee keeping has been practiced for centuries.  Use of modern bee hives has a direct environmental impact.  Traditional bee hives are made from indigenous trees whereas SMTHs are made from pine trees.  Farmers must therefore plant pine trees in order to have the needed lumber for crafting modern bee hives. 

The project marks the birth of a micro-industry that can be sustained by local carpenters provided there is local demand for more high-quality, low-cost bee hives.  Distinguished invitees to the launching ceremony included Hon. Joshua Mzembe, Member of Parliament for Rumphi North Constituency; retired MP and Senior Group Village Head, Mwahomero; Parks and Wildlife Extension Chief, DM Zgambo; and Peace Corps Volunteers: Ben Waterman, Stacey Waterman, and Greg Dorr.

In Mr. DM Zgambo’s welcome remarks, he thanked the DCM for his visit to Nchenachena Village, the first by any high-ranking US Embassy Official.  Hon. Mzembe expressed gratitude to the US Government for their continued interest and assistance in sustainable development projects in Malawi.  Speaking on behalf of the Nchenachena Beekeepers Association and the more than fifty local bee farmers present, Mr. Charles Msiska thanked the US Government for creating economic growth opportunities in the Nchenachena-Area.   In another welcome remark, Mr. Mwahomero recounted his experiences as a young boy practicing traditional beekeeping with his father over 50 years ago, illustrating the differences between traditional bee hives and the new and more efficient Malawi Standard Top Bar Hive.

Mr. David Gilmour performed a “ceremonial saw cut,” by using a power table saw to craft a bee hive top-bar.  In the DCM’s remarks, he highlighted the objectives of the US Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund, which aim to support programs that improve people’s lives and enable them to generate income.   Mr. Gilmour encouraged bee farmers to take advantage of the assistance by engaging in beekeeping as an environmentally friendly income generating activity (IGA).

By Tony Ayuninjam, Self-Help Fund Administrator