25 Kibwe/Kingalu Road, Forest Hill Area, P.O. Box 6053, 67109 Morogoro, Tanzania eamcef@easternarc.or.tz

Beekeeping Project Transforms Communities and Boosts Income

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Beekeeping has transformed lives in Msufini Village, where the Wosia wa Baba group embraced sustainable beekeeping through support from the Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund (EAMCEF). Starting with 50 beehives, the initiative has grown into a major community livelihood, generating over 120 million Tanzanian shillings from honey sales between 2023 and 2024. This income allowed the group to build a headquarters for processing and selling honey, create a savings fund, and provide medicinal honey to vulnerable elders.

The group, made up of 17 members (11 women and 6 men), now operates 85 beehives—80 of which are modern, high-capacity models. Their achievements have inspired 15 more beekeeping groups in the area, including the women-led Songambele group. Through their COCOBA savings initiative, the group has raised TZS 8.6 million, offering loans with 5% interest. Members like Mwanaamina Said Mkalimoto used these loans to build homes and launch businesses, while others, like Rexon Aaron Mtama, have supported their children’s education with profits from beekeeping.

Diversifying their income, the Wosia wa Baba group also rents 30 bicycles—up from 20—for TZS 1,000 per day and uses them for honey transport. They produce additional bee products like beeswax, oils, and candles, increasing their earnings. Similarly, in Foroforo Village near the Nilo Nature Forest Reserve, the Jitegemee Group—also supported by EAMCEF—expanded their income from beekeeping to livestock farming and a group-owned cashew farm. Their model encouraged the formation of the Nguvu Mpya group, promoting income generation through sustainable practices.

Thanks to EAMCEF, beekeeping has not only improved livelihoods but also protected forest ecosystems. Before the project, communities near the Uzungwa Scarp and Nilo reserves used fire to harvest wild honey, damaging the environment. Now, with training and modern tools, groups like Wosia wa Baba and Jitegemee harvest honey safely, proving that beekeeping can conserve forests while sustaining families.

Beekeeping at Wosia wa Baba is practiced in a unique and innovative way. Instead of hanging their beehives on trees as traditionally done, the group chose to build protective shelters to house their hives. This method shields the hives from rain damage and offers better protection against natural predators such as hornets, wasps, and ants, ensuring healthier bees and more consistent honey production.

Story Details

  • Location:
    Msufini village, Kilombero District and Foroforo Village, Korogwe District,
  • District Surrounding Forest:
    Mkingu Nature Forest Reserves and Nilo Nature Forest Reserve 

KEY DATA

  • 142 groups were established and benefited from the project

  • 44 villages were engaged in project implementation

  • 3,380 community members were directly involved

  • 53,110 beehives were developed

  • 8,030 kg of beeswax was produced

  • 668 early adopters managed 975 beehives

  • 1,159,050 kg of honey was harvested

  • TZS 11.785 billion in income was generated

I bought a quarter-acre plot of land for 2 million shillings and a one-and-a-quarter-acre farm for 600,000 shillings, where I grow cassava, maize, and sunflower. When I blessed my marriage, I successfully contributed 1 million shillings and slaughtered 62 chicken as food for the event. Initially, I was raising local chicken, but after receiving training, I switched to raising hybrid chicken. I started with 100 chicken, and now I have 200, and I plan to build more chicken coops to expand my farming.

Paskalina Michael Abdulai

Before joining the poultry farming project, I had 50,000 shillings as capital in my local beauty business, making sales between 250,000 and 300,000 shillings. After starting poultry farming, my income increased, and I added 500,000 shillings to my beauty business, which allowed me to secure 750,000 shillings in total. . Since acquiring the incubator, I have already hatched my own eggs three times, and now my family consumes eggs three times a week, compared to once a month as before. This project has also helped me improve my chicken coop and sell roosters to neighbors. Overall, it has greatly improved my family’s life and allowed us to avoid environmentally harmful activities.

These funds were also used to purchase sand and bricks to finish my house and renovate another by installing rent and paint. Rent payments from tenants increased from 25,000 to 50,000 shillings per month.

Enerika Ludovik Lutabingwa

In 2021, I transitioned from struggling as a charcoal seller in Mkindo Village to poultry farming after joining the Mkindo Kuku Farmers group. With EAMCEF’s training, I grew my flock from 10 to 200 chicken, improving my family’s financial stability and upgrading my home with an extra room, iron roofing, and a window.

Sadick Eliringia Chao, member

If it were not for the chicken I wouldn’t have afforded my heart treatments in Dar es salaam, they [chicken] saved my life In the past, I could only farm one acre but now I can employ casual labourers and farm up to four acres.

BERNADETHA BASIL OISSO

Before joining the project my main source of income was from casual labour – attending other people’s farms, but the income was so small and untimely. To date, through sales of eggs and chicken I have been able to buy my own farm, bought a water pump for my garden and I can now feed my family throughout the year. Through these chickens I accumulated some money and decided to construct an improved house, iron-roofed and comfortable for my family

AMANI B. MTASIWA

In 2017 alone, I earned more than TZS. 700,000 from sales of eggs and chicken, used part of the money to buy a dairy cow…this would have been impossible if it were not for the chickens! Chickens can help me address my financial needs without crying out for help from relatives or neighbors.

PETER FELIX MBUYA

For the last three years chicken [meaning income from sales of chicken] have been paying for my children’s school fees, one of the children was able to join the college and is now employed. We are very much respected in our village just because of chicken, we are now eligible to get loans from Village Community Banks (VICOBA) for other entrepreneurship activities. I don’t expect to go back to the forests for Ndezi because there is enough meat [chicken] available at the community level especially within my compound.

ROHAN BELINGTON MANGA

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