african honey bee - changemakers nc... · 2017-07-18 · african honey bee march 2009 project...

African Honey Bee

March 2009

Project Title:

African Honey Bee Northern Cape

My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 24:13-14 (English Standard Version)

Concept for the start-up of organic, fair trade honey businesses & Co-Ops in the Northern Cape.

Proposal: African Honey Bee March 2009 2

Apis Mellifera Scutellata on Aloe Flower

Contact Name

Guy Stubbs

Email Address

[email protected]

Current Physical Address

5 Villagers street, Irene, South Africa

Current Postal Address

POBox 15, Irene, 0062, South Africa

Telephone

+27(0)824541028


Mission

• African Honey Bee aims to be the leading Southern African based Organic Bee Farming, Packaging,

Marketing & Distribution Company of added value certified organic honey products.

• African Honey Bee will ultimately be owned by the suppliers/beekeepers from whom it will obtain its

honey and other bee products.

• African Honey Bee will go to great lengths to build & maintain relationships with its beekeepers on a

sustainable basis & expand them through assisting them to raise capital, gain access to foraging land,

supplying them with innovative production technology, beekeeping equipment, training & mentorship.

• African Honey Bee will facilitate the production of honey primarily on Kumba, De Beers, Oppenheimer

Family, Anglo American and Northern Cape Government/Community owned properties.

Direct Impact (5 year goal)

• Goal - 10,000 hives in the field

• Access required to 715 km² / 72,000 ha Kalahari acacia savannah (primary source = Acacia Mellifera)

• 200 beekeepers (Mellifera - Organic Honey Trust)

• 8 Primary Co-Ops

• 20 bottling plant employees

• 200 families earning R3,000+ per month (50 hives per family, 20kg per hive)

• ±1,000 people (5 people per family) benefit from the project (±R600 per person per month)

• 1 extraction/ bottling facility based in Kathu

• 5 years to reach an average of 20kg per hive annual harvest

• 200+ tons of honey produced each year (after 5 years)

• ±R13 million+ annual turnover (based on R60 per kg bottled, labeled & delivered to Johannesburg)

Development beekeepers being trained to assemble frames


Summary in brief • African Honey Bee cc (AHB) is a beekeeping business owned by Guy Stubbs, who has considerable

intellectual capital in the area of high-tech production of organic honey.

• AHB has identified & is securing viable markets for organic honey, & wants to facilitate the creation of

organic (later also fair trade) accredited honey production farmers initially in the Northern Cape, to

supply the demand.

• AHB is interested in establishing a beekeeping development HUB (secondary Co-Op) from which it

will start-up & incubate the honey farmers, empowering 200 previously disadvantaged farm workers/

community members, until they are all self-sustaining.

• AHB will compile manuals so that African Honey Bee can be a prototype for the creation of many,

sustainable, rural micro-businesses all over the continent. As a by-product, these will also add

massive intangible value to the fruit & other agricultural sectors & promote biodiversity.

Eland walk through Acacia mellifera clumps.

Northern Cape Government & African Honey Bee

The Northern Cape Provincial Government through their Department of Economic Affairs have been very

active in developing socio/economic development projects in the province.

• The Northern Cape has the poorest per capita ratios in SA.

• The Northern Cape has the most potential for honey production in SA.

• Communally owned farms have been over grazed and have led to infestation of Acacia Mellefera (an

ideal plant for honey production).

• The 2009 South African Government’s five year plan has prioritized 1. crime, 2. education, 3. health,

4. job creation & 5. housing in this order.

• The Northern Cape Provincial Government needs sustainable income generating agricultural projects

to address these issues.

• Grant funding is available from the NC Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Social

Development, Department of Trade & Industry (in particular through the Kgalakgadi Integrated


Sustainable Rural Development Programme), AGRI-SETA, LRAD/CASP funds from Land Affairs &

Department of Agriculture for training and local municipalities.

• Soft loan funding is available from the Khula/Dept Agriculture, Mafisa fund.

• The Northern Cape was the first province in South Africa to develop community conservation

symbiotic relationships (in the Rigtersveld National Park).

The Northern Cape Government has potential access to over 650000ha of prime unpolluted land that

could be available for producing organic, premium quality honey under the African Honey Bee brand.

Mining & African Honey Bee

Mining has been vitally important to the development of South Africa, and has remained so to this day.

Synonymous with mining are Kumba, Anglo American, De Beers and the Oppenheimer family, at the

forefront of the mining industry for more than 100 years.

• Mining operations in South Africa include large areas of natural habitats. These natural areas have

been diligently managed over many decades and are now very important reservoirs of biodiversity.

• In measuring the value of biodiversity and natural ecosystems conserved as a legacy of mining, one

may add large tracts of natural lands owned by the Oppenheimer family and the South African

Government. These areas have also been well-managed - the most spectacular area is the 100 000

ha Tswalu Kalahari Reserve which is the largest private nature reserve in Africa.

• These wilderness areas are ideal for beekeeping and honey production because they are unpolluted,

covered predominantly in high yielding honey producing bee plants and remote enough to restrict

vandalism and theft. Although they are mostly positioned in semi desert areas, water points are fairly

common due to previous stock farming operations.

Acacia Mellifera flowering near Kathu. The Sishen mine can be seen in the background.

• De Beers and the Oppenheimer family alone have potential honey producing game reserves that

amount to 235 000 ha in South Africa alone (Rooipoort 40 000 ha, Bentfontein 11 000 ha, Dronfield 8

000 ha, Ezemvelo 10 000 ha, Kleinzee 30 000 ha, Tswalu 100 000 ha & Venitia 36 000 ha).


• Not only are these havens of biodiversity, they have been the focus of a considerable research output,

supported and often funded by De Beers and the Oppenheimer family. This investment in research

constitutes a further environmental contribution – knowledge invaluable for conservation.

• Global concerns about the planet’s sustainability are rapidly intensifying. Sustainable development in

tandem with socio-economic upliftment is essential. Such action is taking place, ranging from global

cooperation to individual actions. In response, many commercial companies have broadened their

responsibilities to active participation in environmental actions.

• Added to these properties are mine properties, cattle farms and associated company properties all

with great honey producing potential.

• In total it is estimated that 270 000 ha of primary unpolluted land could be available via the Anglo

American Group in South Africa for producing organic, premium quality honey under the African

Honey Bee brand.

Problems with Honey Production in SA

• Conventional non-organic honey production in SA is under tremendous pressure from lower prices as

a result of cheap (government subsidized) honey being imported from China, Argentina, Australia,

other African countries etc. and as a result the beekeeping industry generates its primary income from

offering pollination services. Honey production has become a secondary income source.

• The consumer (local & export) market is demanding organic, environmentally-friendly, ethically

produced honey, for example honey produced without pesticides, in unpolluted areas of floral

biodiversity, without poisoning/trapping badgers, etc, & utilising fair labour practices.

• South Africa, (especially in the indigenous species-rich floral areas such as in the Western Cape,

North West Province, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo), is exceptionally well-placed to

produce high volumes of fine organic honey, but is not yet doing so.

• The production of honey from indigenous flora such as fynbos has not been viable to date for several

reasons. For example beekeepers ignore/are unaware of natural factors such as the 10-year fynbos

burning cycle (which regenerates the fynbos & increases the nectar yields), & the fact that constant

interfering with hives dramatically reduces production & because of the low prices offered for honey,

beekeepers tend to overwinter their colonies on fynbos to sustain them rather than to concentrate on

honey production. It’s an interesting fact that as little as 8 years ago New Zealanders fed Manuka

honey to their cattle because of its strong flavour & dark colour and they thought that it didn’t have any

value. Today Manuka honey sells for R300 per kg (10 times what SA honey sells for) because of

clever brand marketing strategies (developing a measurable antibacterial factor).


Theunus Engelbrecht’s hives amongst Acacias in the Northern Cape

AHB’s Concept for Sustainable Organic Honey Production

• AHB is developing an interactive management system, technology & software (‘Nectar Know-How,

Technology & Resource-base’, provisionally called ‘Nektar’) for producing commercially sustainable

volumes of organic honey from indigenous flora. Africa being the least polluted continent potentially

has the greatest opportunity to produce organic honey.

• In order to secure its sources of supply, AHB wants to facilitate the establishment of numerous rural

micro-businesses each made up of at least 1 previously disadvantaged individual (PDI).

• To achieve this, AHB would like to establish a development HUB in Kathu to construct beekeeping

equipment, develop infrastructure, breed honey bee queens, catch migratory & reproduction swarms,

train & mentor PDIs, incubate a centralised honey business, offer logistical support, & develop &

manage the technology for sustainable organic honey harvesting and build a bottling plant.

• The honey-producing model that AHB is piloting involves buying starter colonies, catching wild

indigenous honey bees, splitting swarms, replacing absconded swarms, rearing honey bee queens

(that have good honey producing characteristics) and strengthening the colonies before the flows (in

particular the Acacia Mellifera flowering season), harvesting honey after flows (October & February)

and feed the bees during the dearth seasons to decrease absconding. Various technologies to

achieve this are already under development, & research has already begun to determine the potential

of honey production in the Northern Cape.

• In order to increase yields and enable traceability, AHB is also developing high-tech semi-automated

data collection solutions for the remote management of hives. (This also minimizes disruption to the

hives & results in higher productivity.)

• The Nektar management system will also allow every batch of honey to be traced back directly to the

hives the honey came from, & the areas & plants the bees foraged from, which has significant

marketing advantages.


Black Rhino amongst bee plants at Tswalu.

• AHB is busy developing a bee plant mapping system (illustrated at the end of this document) to

determine plant densities for positioning of apiary sites. Albert Ackhurst (GIS specialist) and Tania

Anderson (Head of the McGregor museum herbarium) are assisting in this process.

• AHB intends to document all its findings & methods scientifically & photographically, & publish them

on a website as an educational example of a working prototype, which all registered suppliers of

African Honey Bee & possibly other honey-producers will be free to follow.

• The long-term plan is to develop beekeepers all over the country & eventually all over Africa following

the same model & taking advantage of our vast unpolluted natural environment.

• To ensure the integrity of the local organic honey industry, AHB has also initiated a set of standards &

process for African organic & food safety honey accreditation, so that local honey producers and

suppliers to the AHB bottling plant can be certified as organic by independent audits. These standards

will be aligned with those of Ecocert, JAS, BCS, SANAS, BRC, ISO2000, HACCP, Fair Game & other

accredited certification bodies.

Data collection using automated handheld devices.


Development beekeepers working on bushveld hives

Proposed project structure

• Primary Co-Ops with between 5 to 50 members each will be set up in villages, on farms and game

reserves.

• Each Primary Co-Op will own a resource centre to store bee food, hives & equipment, harvested

honey and support it’s beekeepers.

• All the primary Co-Ops will be members of a HUB which will be registered as a “retail financial

intermediate” (RFI). The HUB will raise subsidized soft loans, raise and manage training funding & the

training process, manage food safety, fair trade & organic accreditation. The HUB will also raise

“municipal infrastructure grants” (MIG) funds for the primary Co-Ops from Local municipal “local

economic development” (LED) offices. The HUB will also assist the primary Co-Ops with financial

management, insurance etc. and so will probably have a direct link with the bottling company.


Formation & expansion of the AHB HUB

• AHB would seek redundant building/buildings in or near Kathu that could be revamped into a

development centre. (An abattoir buildi ng has been i dent i f ied as a possible si te by Anel

Marais, Manager sustainable development - Kumba - Sishen)

• Initially 10000 hives would be set up in a 100km radius around Kathu.

• Existing PDIs in the areas have & will be identified with the help of Kumba Sustainable

development/LED, Government & Local municipalities, DeBeers ecology division & other private

development initiatives. (Already 20 possible PDI’s have been identified at Tswalu.)

• Emphasis will be placed on the communities around Sishen mine, including Olifantshoek, Dingleton,

Sishen, Mapoteng and Deben. Postmasburg and Kuruman and their surrounding rural areas would

also fall within the 100km radius area.

• Each successful PDI applicant will be empowered to buy hives, bees, stands, beekeeping & honey

extraction equipment, a share in a motorized trailer, & a licence to use the Nektar honey production

technology & data with “honey money”.

• The HUB will also supply each PDI with intensive training over a six-month period, & ongoing advice &

mentoring.

• The HUB will be the base to incubate the start-up business of the Beekeepers, & so will provide

financial assistance, insurance, technical support etc.

Honey Badger stands. Drifting is reduced through placing branches between hives.


Current Stage of Project Development

• The Nektar technology & methodology is in development with assistance from a grant received from

the Shell Foundation in the UK.

• The technology includes an electronic interactive 1:50000 maps showing the locations and densities

of the different honey-producing flora (primarily indigenous), which helps beekeepers position hives for

optimum production. (Please view examples at the end of the document). Plant density data for the

Northern Cape will still need to be collected. Tania Anderson from the McGregor Museum Herbarium

has and will be consulted with regards to developing the maps for the Northern Cape.

• AHB is developing a hive management/traceability model using existing technology for the semi-

automated measurement of hive strength, position, time and date of visit, weight, weather conditions,

primary flora type etc. This information would be fed back to a central database via cell phone &

translated into management information.

• The data would be collected by beekeepers using a cell phone mostly automatically via RFID & GPS

technology. (Further information supplied at the end of this document).

• Extensive research into organic honey production is ongoing, & draft standards for organic

accreditation have been drawn up.

• 20 PDIs have already been identified at Tswalu.

• Detailed plans for the bottling plant have been drawn up using food safety approved containers

(please view diagram at the end of this document).

• Chemcity (Sasol’s enterprise development programme) is assisting with the development of a cost

effective, environmentally friendly hive, and with business & fundraising advice.

• Extensive market research has been carried out & negotiations are ongoing for guaranteed minimum

orders from suitable retailers. (Pick n Pay have indicated that they could buy 1m 375gsm units @ R60

per kg, per annum)

Keeping records is one of the most important management requirements.


The Market for Fair Trade Organic Honey

• Due to various consumer scares globally regarding the levels of antibiotics, chemicals & toxins in

industrially-produced honey, there is already a strong market for organic honey that complies with

European, American & Japanese standards.

• The health food consumer is an important target for organic honey. Most imported (non-organic)

honey is irradiated, pasteurized and over filtered which reduces its health benefits.

• The concept is therefore to create a structured market for organic honey produced in compliance with

approved health, environmental, social, labour & other standards & practices, for which the ‘ethical

consumer’ market is prepared to pay premium prices. To launch the honey in South Africa (and

develop consumer awareness), it will be sold at prices that are competitive to normal commercial

honey.

Training beekeepers welding as part of their skills.

• AHB is negotiating guaranteed volume honey purchase agreements with suitable retailers. (So far

retailers in South Africa have indicated that they would be interested in and able to sell up to 500 tons

of organic, locally produced honey annually at a current wholesale price of R60+ per kg).

• The marketing concept for the honey would be based on the ‘boutique product’ idea. Like wine, every

batch of indigenous flora honey is unique & different, depending on which honey plants were flowering

in that season & area.

• The brand – African Honey Bee would be marketed parallel to other local initiatives like the Diamond

route, the Roaring Kalahari Route etc.

• The name African Honey Bee has been selected to promote the fact that the honey has been

produced locally (not imported from China or elsewhere) and has been produced by our own

indigenous bees.

• A website will give customers detailed information about each batch, including hive locations, articles

on flora & weather conditions, anecdotes from the beekeepers & local community, together with

photographic images, etc. The website will also offer recipes, medicinal remedies, conservation &

african honey bee - changemakers nc... · 2017-07-18 · african honey bee march 2009 project...

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