This translation is not completely accurate as it was automatically generated by a computer.
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A UMNS Feature
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
7:00 A.M. ET Thursday, November 8, 2012 | TUNUKUK PUYE, Liberia
The Rev. Joe Gatei, dressed in head-to-toe protective wear, checks on
one of his hives. He is sharing the knowledge so that others can make
money from selling Liberian honey. UMNS photos by Kathy L. Gilbert.
View in Photo Gallery
The Rev. Joe Gatei pulls the baggy, mint-green net suit over his
Sunday clothes. Knee-high black rubber boots, red heavyweight plastic
gloves and a straw hat with an attached net veil make him look like a
giant Gumby.
With every inch of him protected, he is ready to visit the aggressive wild African bees he loves so much.
Gatei is a graduate of the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Sustainable Agriculture and Development program in beekeeping. He is a true believer in the benefits of honey as food, medicine and income.
“I have been able to pay school fees for my four children,” says the
lay pastor of Tunukuk Puye United Methodist Church. He is a full-time
beekeeper, which means he has 50 hives. He plans to have 150.
Walking several feet into the thick tropical forest, he points out this is a perfect place for beehives.
“We have water, flowering trees and room for the bees to work in
peace.” Working in peace is especially important since these
Africanized honey bees are also known as “killer bees.” Despite their
fierce name, Gatei speaks of them lovingly. They are quite calm when
treated with care, he adds.
Keeping his promise
Gatei is spreading the word about the joys of beekeeping, which is
part of the promise he made when he went into the program and received
his first hives. People training people to be self-sufficient is the goal of the agriculture and sustainability program.
Duke Nyaeh and Ezekiel C. Freeman display their finished product,
Liberian honey. Other sustainable products in Liberia include raising
snails and using roots and leaves from the Moringa tree.
View in Photo Gallery
“They can make up to $12.50 (per gallon of honey) in the first year;
that is good cash for them,” says Ezekiel C. Freeman, coordinator for
West African Initiative and UMCOR’s Sustainable Agriculture and
Development program, which includes Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“Beekeeping doesn’t take a lot of work, so they can continue to farm
and have money to send their children to school, rebuild homes and
invest in more hives.”
People did not realize they could make money from gathering honey,
Freeman says. It was a challenge in the beginning to convince them.
They couldn’t see the value in it.
In a bright yellow building tucked behind a small village, the
“Liberian Pure Honey Straight from the Tropical Rainforest” is
purified, and people are trained to set up their own business. Freeman
says Liberian honey has been a big hit at the annual agricultural trade
fairs. Even the president is a fan. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
first tasted the honey at one of the fairs and now she often sends
people out to buy it for her, Freeman says.
Two other sustainable crops in the program feature Moringa trees and snails.
Delicious and good for you
Barbecued snails are another big hit at the trade fairs, Freeman says.
Snails have always been around, and people often augment their diet
with the protein-rich mollusks. But, like the honey, people were used
to going into the forests and collecting snails whenever they wanted
some for dinner. The UMCOR program has taught them to build cages for
the snails and to feed them organically using food scraps from their
kitchens.
The snail cages breed enough for people to eat and to sell during the dry season, Freeman explains.
Mary Ann Newah has 2,000 of the small native Moringa trees on her
farm. Along with gardening, she spends time going around the community
telling people about the nutritional value of this native tree.
Newah recently started cutting and drying the roots of the tree for tea.
“It will flush out any infection,” she says. “I have seen many children saved by this tea.”
Leaves from the tree are harvested, washed, dried and pounded into
powder. The powder can supplement a child’s diet, supplying 42 percent
of required protein. The plant also provides magnesium, iron and
vitamin A.
When there are cholera outbreaks, the Moringa tree is the only thing
that would help people without access to health care, Freeman says.
‘Blessing from God’
Freeman, who has a degree in agricultural and rural development,
says the work he is doing through the West African Initiative and UMCOR
is a “blessing from God.”
Bees, snails and Moringa trees are some of the things readily available, but the people needed to understand their worth.
“Our intervention helped them to know that resources can generate income,” he says.
The United Nations Development Programme recognized the West Africa
Initiative in 2012, and Freeman went to Brazil to receive the award.
The program also received a certificate of “Best Application of
Business Skills and Market Linkages” from USAYS.
Liberian honey is only available locally. To sell it
internationally, 50 tons a year have to be produced. Five tons are
being produced now.
“Someday, everyone will taste Liberian honey,” Freeman says. “That is my sweet dream.”
*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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