Liverpool YMCA

After a thorough research on the need for the production of quality honey production within the region of Basse in the Upper River Region, the Gambia YMCA's with strategic advice from the colleague YMCA staff from Liverpool decided to develop a one year project proposal in Bee Keeping and Honey Production for young people in the above mentioned region. The training proper started in by the end of November to early December 2008. Prior to the start two radio advertisements were made for potential beneficiaries to apply and benefit from the said program. Amongst the requirements are that young people between the ages of 16 - 40 years old. Most demonstrate why they should benefit in the program, a disabled or handicap young person. After proper screening sixteen young people were recruited representing seven districts within the region.

Upon admitted to the training a special meeting was organized by the YMCAs Field Officers in Basse who's Chairman Mr. Njaga Khan Community Development Office for Upper River Region addressed all trainees in the presence of the trainer Mr. Samba K. Baldeh. He told them that he really knows that they were all interested in the training program because they all reported on time as announced. The chairman told them that if you see the YMCA are paying money for all of you to be trained free of charge, is because they want to reduce the poverty prevalence in our various districts and improve the nutritional standards of our communities, the region and to be extended to other regions too if possible.

Most of our honey we get in this area is either from Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau or Cassamace in The Republic of Senegal. If you perform well, it would not be necessary to buy from foreign nationals when we have our own honey producers in this region.

Although some of you have been engaged in some form bee keeping initiatives but you have been doing it in our local and traditional way but if you are serious with this new learning strategy you will surely learn a lot and improve on productivity and as well on income.

It is also worth mentioning that if you are to gain anything after the training; it has to be with the recommendation of the trainer and with the monitoring done by the Basse staff.
It was also clear that as most of the training is practical so if one is absent you are going to lose a lot so be present for the duration of the training so as to learn as much as you can.

One of the trainees talked on behalf of his fellow trainees that they are very grateful to the YMCA for providing this laudable opportunity which they have been looking for quiet a long time. He said that the training is expensive and the materials are also expensive which are not in their reach so they are very grateful to YMCAs and the funders. We do beekeeping but we normally make our own local beehives which sometimes make us lose a lot of honey during harvest time. He said even the way we harvest using fire is not acceptable in the formal way of beekeeping.

On the first day of training, the trainees were taken on a conducted tour of some of the beehives of the trainer and they were shown the site for the training. Some of the beehives are already colonize (bees have started making Horney) but some are not yet which is normal.

The trainer who has at least ten years of experience in bee keeping and honey production with a good track record within the region of Upper Region has been able to take trainees through the first cycle of training. Most of the trainees expressed appreciation and confirmed that the first day was worth the while and did expose them to a lot of information's and practical experiences.
The training which will last three months will eventually equipped all trainees with enough skills to prepare bee hives, extract honey and market the honey in a very decent way so as to attract potential buyers.

The training which will comprise of the identification of sites for the placement of the bee-hives, the preparation of bee- hives, the extraction and preservation of honey. The introduction of honey branding and marketing of the product.