Project update: Mercy Hands Europe and IACO have been bee-sy!
Yas Comez
21 December 2022
We would like to take the time to update you about one of our funded projects: Beekeeping in Syria. Since this project was initiated, our partners secured additional funding that has allowed them to increase the number of direct beneficiaries to 50 instead of 40 and expand the project in several other ways.
Here’s a timeline of what’s been happening for the last few months:
July – The entirety of this month was dedicated to the purchase, preparation and distribution of the beekeeping kits for the beneficiaries. The team worked with local craftsmen to begin production of the wooden beehives – promoting local knowledge and participating in the regional economy.
August – 250 wooden beehives were distributed, with each beneficiary receiving five. The beekeepers met and decided there would be three cooperatives. These would be located in Al-Bab, Bizaa and Qabasin. Now that the cooperatives had been established – logos, stamps, and banners of each cooperative were developed. The last achievement of August was the manufacturing of electric honey extractors. These machines enable extraction of honey whilst keeping the honeycomb intact, which can then be reused by the bees to generate more honey.
September – This was the training month of all 30 members from the board of directors from the three cooperatives. The training included financial management, strategy planning, internal administration and communications. This enables the board members to formulate the rules and legal structure for their cooperatives. Further to this, offices were rented and equipped with the necessary furniture. September also saw drafts of the honey jar labels being prepared!
October – 4,000 honey jars were purchased, and the honey jar stickers were finalised. October also involved training on excessive use of pesticides and how to fill and package the honey jars. IACO visited 22 beekeepers and found 18 of them had bees in good or excellent conditions.
November – What an exciting month this was! The stickers for the honey jars were printed and honey jars filled – all in preparation for the honey fair. The fair was held in Al-Bab city and took place across three days. This was the first fair of its kind in the past 10 years due to the conflict that’s been taking place in Syria. Around 2,000 visitors attended, getting a chance to taste honey and learn more about the process. Many local media outlets covered the fair. Arrangements are now being made for the beneficiaries to visit Gaziantep, Turkey early in the new year where another honey fair will be held.
Due to all of the ongoing success of the project, Mercy Hands are able to do more than they originally set out to achieve.
That summarises the latest updates from a wonderful project! We love receiving regular updates and seeing how our funding is impacting and changing lives for the better. We can’t wait to see what is achieved from this project in its final few months! Keep your eyes peeled for more updates.
