PERSPECTIVES - Why Beekeeping is
Empowering Women in Tanzania
Helping women learn the art of beekeeping has much sweeter benefits than just honey. Focus on Tanzanian Communities' Women's Empowerment Program teaches women in the Serengeti region to open small, environmentally friendly businesses.
In Tanzania, beekeeping is traditionally considered a man’s task. Because bees can be aggressive and dangerous, men are presumed to be better equipped to handle the hard work associated with beekeeping and harvesting honey.
FOTZC’s Women’s Empowerment Program is helping rewrite those traditions. There are now 270 women who participate in the beekeeping project, and these women are challenging the way in which such stereotypical roles are viewed daily.
One member is fixing wax foundation to one of hive frames.
Together, they gain the courage to continue learning beekeeping and discover the benefits that come with it. While honey is the main product they create, the women are also expanding their knowledge to create various byproducts, including wax products like soaps, candles, lotions, and more.
As they build their businesses and earn profits, the women can contribute to their household’s income, which allows them to pay school fees for their children, feed their families, and even start additional businesses to further their success.
But beekeeping doesn’t just benefit these women and their families—it has a positive impact on their environment as well. Bees are crucial members of the world’s ecosystems and are essential for pollination. By caring for them, the Maasai beekeepers help maintain and grow local biodiversity.
Three program members hang brood boxes to catch new bee swarms.
What opportunities does beekeeping provide to these women and their families?
The traditionally patriarchal culture in Tanzania often doesn’t allow women to have a voice in their community, the power to make decisions, or a role in the local economy. As these traditions evolve over time, FOTZC’s Women’s Empowerment Program helps women break out of their traditional roles and empowers them to sell maize, honey, chickens, and more to earn money and contribute towards their families independently. These steps toward economic freedom give the women more power to make communal decisions and move in new ways in society.
In all these ways, beekeeping is much more than honey. It helps women learn how to start and run a business and how to become a leaders in their families and communities.
A message from Asela Melkiory, beekeeping project manager
I’d like to thank FOTZC on behalf of these women, because they played a very big role in making sure these women are getting everything necessary.
“When you empower a woman, you empower the whole community.”
How Can You Help?
Click the link below to support FOTZC’s projects and be a force for good in Tanzania. You can choose to send your gift where it’s needed most, or designate one of FOTZC’s areas of focus: Education, Health, Water and Women’s Empowerment.
