Bee-coming the Change with Mercy Hands Europe & IACO
Yas Comez
14 November 2023
As some of you may recall, we partnered with Mercy Hands Europe and IACO to fund a project that supported beekeepers and farmers in the Aleppo region of Syria. We are pleased to share with you that we will be continuing this partnership and have approved to provide funding for the second phase of this project!
Beekeeping was a traditional industry in Syria and Al-Bab district before the war, producing honey, royal jelly, natural wax and propolis. 10 years of conflict have led to the collapse of the local economy and significant population displacements, both within the country and to neighbouring countries. The many years of instability have provoked a decrease of bees in the region, as well as less biodiversity. Bee colonies have been destroyed or neglected, with an 86% decrease in many rural areas. However, thanks to a successful fundraising campaign and IACO's technical expertise in agriculture – they were able to successfully launch a beekeeping training project in Al-Bab from April 2022 to March 2023 for 50 beekeepers. Due to the amazing feedback they’d received on this project, Mercy Hands and IACO have decided to continue by training a further 50 people – which will equate to 100 trained beekeepers in total by the end of the second phase!
The next phase of this project will focus primarily on the functioning of the artificial insemination center for queen bees, more sustainable methods of bee feeding, and the importance of the biodiversity of flowers and plants (which are necessary for pollination and bee health). A greenhouse will also be made available to the farmers and beekeepers, to ensure they are able to cultivate flowering plants each season.
The project will impact 400 people’s lives directly, with 100 of the people being beekeepers and 300 who are local farmers that are currently practicing beekeeping and will benefit from the distribution of plants. The 100 beekeepers are comprised of 50 beekeepers from the initial first phase of the project, with the additional 50 becoming new beekeepers who will be trained. Within this secondary phase, Mercy Hands and IACO aim to obtain gender equality by ensuring that 25 of the 50 beekeepers are women. The project will also indirectly impact 20,000 people’s lives!
We’re delighted to be supporting another phase of the beekeeping project. Stay tuned for the latest updates!
