Stingless bee farmers to start generating income
Following the well-attended stingless bee breeding courses held in July and August, the Trocano Project is pleased to report that the course participants have found buyers, to buy exclusively the honey produced in the communities of Borba.
The Trocano Project team is overjoyed at the success of this program and how the communities have embraced the opportunity to participate and to achieve these meaningful results.
Economic Opportunities
This is a significant result for the newly qualified breeders. This enables them to generate much-needed income for themselves, and their families. It also brings social benefits to their communities as a whole. It also relieves the pressure of deforestation, encouraging the protection of the forests due to the natural conditions best required for the bee breeding.
The honey produced by stingless bees has many important medicinal qualities. This has helped the farmers to negotiate a good price for their products.
Delivery of bee boxes in Borba
The Trocano Project team made a 2-day trip to deliver some new bee boxes to the São José and Axinim communities to enable them to house more bees and produce more honey. The communities were pleased to receive the boxes and got to work with them straight away.
Bee breeding program roll-out to be extended
The Trocano Project is pleased to support this program, in partnership with the Municipality of Borba and the project developer Go Balance Limited. Following the success of the program so far, it is the objective for all communities within the project area to have the opportunity to benefit from participation in the program. Roll out of the program to additional communities will continue throughout the coming months.
Environmental and Social Benefits
The Municipal Secretary for Environment, Rafael Pantoja attended a meliponiculture event held by INPA. He was able to learn more about the practice and engage with other stingless bee breeders.
Meliponiculture is a sustainable activity and refers to the breeding and management of native stingless bees. The practice of meliponiculture generates excellent environmental benefits. Through pollination that contributes to the regeneration of forests, this enriches the ecosystem and enhances the biodiversity of the area. Furthermore, it creates a means of economic opportunity that local resident farmers need.
All 60 participants of the Trocano training courses received a bee breeding box to start their work. The recipients were pleased to put into practice the knowledge they acquired by completing the training.
