YOUTH & BEES
Bees are part of the biodiversity on which we all depend for
survival. According to Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), these pollinators contribute directly to food security.
Effects of climate change downplay development efforts adversely impacting the poor, especially those who acquire
livelihood from natural resources. In the current world order,
the youth, especially in Africa, is the population segment with
the most potential for propulsion to success while being the
most volatile and prone to risk.
Almost 90% of wild and spontaneous plant species depend on bees’ pollination for reproduction and diffusion.
Bees are an integral part of the maintenance of global biodiversity. Biodiversity enables access to medicine,
food, shelter, and a connection to nature through various interactions, sustaining communities’ livelihoods. Britt’s
Honey for Hope initiative remains mindful of the dire need to prevent our global climate and mitigate climate
change’s adverse effects. After so many years, Kenya is experiencing a drought leading to wild and domestic
animals dying due to a lack of food and water. People are going days without food and water in some areas
leading to loss of lives, combined with the adverse effects of Covid-19.
Kenya is a youthful country. According to the 2019 Population and Census results, 75% of 47.6 million people are under 35 years, most of whom are unemployed. Bees For Brittany initiative has evolved over the last three years into a stable empowerment program by identifying at-risk youths, mentoring them, and offering technical support in their beekeeping journey. As a result, we have seen high-quality organic honey, which gives them an income after the sale.
Our goal has been to introduce as many youths as possible to beekeeping as a tool for economic empowerment. In our pilot program, we aimed to leverage the financial aspect of agriculture to empower the youth at risk and of all sexes. We managed to pull together 34 young men and women, equip them with proper beekeeping training and tools, and now earn from this venture, and most have scaled up from one beehive to several more. Thus, beekeeping creates employment for jobless youth who might have sought unconventional ways to generate income, such as theft, thus disrupting peace and cohesion in their communities.
By offering employment opportunities and means for the youth to venture into self-employment, the initiative takes a proactive role in combating the high unemployment rates among youth. On the other hand, our advocacy in environmental conservation has seen young people be at the forefront through tree planting. Also, enabling youth to participate in beekeeping helps increase pollinators, thus boosting crop yields in their communities.
Our emphasis currently is on capacity building by disseminating knowledge on practical beekeeping and sensitizing farmers on pollination’s benefits, which strengthens their interest in beekeeping sustainable livelihoods, where beekeeping is a tool in improving the participant’s social and economic status. We are also conscious of gender balance, where men and women actively take part without discrimination and create awareness of climatic change and our role in mitigating its adverse effects.
Our engagement with the youth in environmental protection has not only created a direct impact in altering their perspective and behaviors but possibly influenced their parents and friends. This year (2023), we intend to engage with 30 organized youth groups and provide adequate knowledge in beekeeping, technical support, and tools to enable them to participate in beekeeping to generate income.
Additionally, we aim to sensitize the youth’s role in mitigating the challenges of climate change and encourage them to be ambassadors of change in their local communities. In promoting biodiversity and conserving the ecosystems, we aim to engage the youth in tree planting in
rural areas where trees are cut for charcoal burning and other activities, thus leaving those living in such regions prone to the effects of climate change. Our target is to plant half a million trees this year.
WHY BEES FOR 'BRITTANY'?
Britts is the short form for the name Brittany. We named this initiative ‘Bees For Brittany‘ in memory of Brittany Lynns Stevens, our late member. Brittany spent three weeks in 2019 on one of her volunteer experiences in Nyeri, Kenya. She formed close relationships with our beneficiaries. Her selfless personality impacted everyone she interacted with. Care for the environment was her close companion, and her favorite color was Yellow.
