Bee keeping in the village of Odek!
This month I had the opportunity to visit a small beekeeping operation in the village of Odek, a distance of approximately 30k south-east of Gulu town. Odek also happens to be the village where Joseph Kony (of the LRA) was born. I was invited to the home of Olaya Patrick Zechariah where he and his wife showed me their beekeeping farm.
Oloya Patrick Zechariah and his wife.
They, along with 5 other farmers have 89 bee hives. The hives are hand-made from hard wood logs that come from either the opok, odugu, or larwerge tree. (These are the Acholi names. No one knew the English names.) The task of making one of these hives is not easy as each log needs to be chiseled out by hand. A long tedious process.
They are aiming to have 300 hives.
There are manufactured hives that can be purchased for Shs10,000 to Shs20,000 (Ugandan shillings) which is equivalent to 4 to 8 U.S. dollars. Zachariah says the purchased hives may produce more honey in the beginning but these hardwood, hand-made hives are much stronger and will last longer. I think it is also more affordable but I have to wonder about the destruction of so many valuable trees (which is becoming an issue in northern Uganda).
After finding the right tree and cutting it down to the right size logs the long process of chiseling it out begins.
How many hives can you spot?
I got as close as I could to get this shot and I was making everyone nervous doing so. The last thing you want to do is aggravate these bees.
There is two to three seasons for honey production per year and each hive can produce up to 20 kilograms (about 2.2 pounds) per season with a market price of Shs10,000 per kilogram. In 2000, the government of Uganda identified bee keeping as an enterprize that could get Ugandans out of poverty.
Uganda produces one of the best honey on the international market and a report shows that Uganda has the potential of producing 500,000 metric tons of honey annually.
In addition to honey is some of the other by-products that could be produced such as candles, shoe polish, furniture polish and propolis, a very expensive pharmaceutical product that is anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-bacterial. There is also a company here that is producing honey wine.
The 3 men in this photo are all pastors in their village and are currently completing pastoral training in Gulu town.
Honey is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and is sold to clinics to be used for medicinal applications, including treatment of sore throats and by HIV/AIDS sufferers who take it to treat opportunistic infections.
I think this is one of the reasons I have so few stomach upsets or colds is because I’ve been eating the unprocessed honey.
Bee keeping could be a very lucrative business for village farmers, even after taking in the cost of supplies and transporting to market.
Unfortunately, most of these village farmers do not have the necessary equipment to properly maintain the bees and harvest the honey. One of the methods used in harvesting the honey is to build a fire and smoke the bees out of the hive at night. This can destroy a colony. A bee smoker would be a valuable piece of equipment. These farmers are also working without protective gear such as a bee suit, gloves or head vail.
Once you find the perfect log you next have to chisel it out by hand.
Women’s Day celebration in the village of Paicho
In June our women’s group was asked to come and be part of a Women’s Day celebration in the village of Paicho.
Some of the quilts being displayed.
This village is about 3 miles north of Tegot-atoo and about 20k northeast of Gulu. Different women’s groups and NGO’s were gathering to show their crafts and discuss their programs. We were asked to bring and show some of the quilts we are making and to discuss our project. Our quilts were generating a lot of interest and people were ready to buy, however, before we could introduce our program and quilts we were hit with a monsoon that lasted over an hour and this officially ended the program. It was encouraging though to see so much interest in what we have been doing.
More quilts on the desk.
Traditional dances being performed
and now back to the village of Tegot-atoo…
New Members
Our membership is limited to 60 ladies and one of the rules for members is that they have to maintain a good attendance. After a certain number of unexplained absences they risk losing their membership. When this happens it opens up the opportunity for new ladies to join. We have had 3 recent graduates that entered the program this year. I think a couple of these openings were created when we discovered we had double names, albeit spelled a little differently, on the attendance list.
Recent graduate.
This week we had 4 new members start the program.
Some Changes
We are also moving our meeting place from the school to a local church and are in the process of negotiating a fair rent. The Tegot primary school has been gracious in providing us a room but they now need that room for their students. I think the church though will be ideal as there is much more room and it is much quieter. A few hundred school children can make a lot of noise! Please pray that we can make this beneficial for both the church and for our group.
So much as been happening these last couple of months!
I have been meeting with some members of the local government who have shown an interest in our project and have come to visit us during our meetings to see what we are doing. Quilting is unique to this area and people are astonished that we make these quilts by hand and use no sewing machines. The MP (minister of parliament) from Gulu may also be visiting us soon. It’s always good to have the local government recognize you.
Our visitor
Recently, I was introduced to a man from Gulu who has a PhD in Art and Industrial Design, the only man in Uganda to have this designation. He has taken an interest in our quilting and I hope to tell you more in the future on how this man can help us in our quilt art.
The women were really enjoying this meeting.
We held a special meeting where the ladies had a chance to meet this man, James, and to listen to what he had to say. I think he spoke for 3 hours but some of the women said they could have listened to him for 3 days. They were really enjoying what he had to say, giving them advice in terms of the project, encouragement for their daily living and messages from the Bible.
Praise the Lord!
We had 4 women come forward to give their life to Christ in addition to one man during this meeting.
Now, where did the man come from you ask? Well, he happened to be walking by the church and when he saw it full of people he assumed a church service was taking place, so he decided to visit. I have to add that the man was a bit intoxicated but he was insisting he wanted to be saved, to give his life to Christ and he vowed to give up all alcohol.
An unexpected visitor!
We are praying he was sincere on all accounts.
Our Projects
This quilt is going to be beautiful when it’s completed.
Practicing our quilting first.
We have some nice projects in the works and I can’t wait to show you them when they are finished. Above is a preview of what I think will be a most beautiful bed cover. Our “basket” quilt is being quilted by our 3 best quilters. Almost everyone took a try at stitching this pattern (see photo to your left) by hand with no marking or tracing the pattern first. The top 3 ladies, Agnes, Margarete and Rose had the best stitch (even better than the teacher) and are now quilting this piece.
Below is one of our recent completed projects. This picture doesn’t do it justice though as it came out very nice and was in high demand at the Paicho celebration.
The photo doesn’t do it justice!
Thank you…
…for reading my update, for your prayers and for the many ways you show support of this ministry/project. We have received so many wonderful supplies and “special” gifts these last few months. I am truly grateful and humbled. I’m excited in what I’m doing, I love working with these women and I very much enjoy living in Uganda but sometimes I do get a bit lonely and homesick, so I am also grateful for your cards, emails and Facebook messages as these do a lot to alleviate the loneliness.
I have some major decisions to make concerning moving this project forward and would ask for your prayers.
Also, if there is someone who could teach me some time management skills I would welcome you. I have so much that I would like to do, that I need to do, but too many days I sit back and wonder where did the day go and what did I accomplish. I know this is Africa and time moves slower here…but
Great update with so much going on. Thinking of you and praying for you often. Mel