Toby decided that the best way forward, after much research, would be to go there and do a feasibility study.

He arrived in Uganda in February 2010 and travelled to Kisoro for a three month stay. He soon made contact with the local cooperative, Kisoro Honey, who are assisted by the British charity, Bees Abroad.

His feasibility study was excellent and convinced the trustees that it was a worthwhile project for ACE to take on. He concluded that 6 of the 8 ACE schools in the area were suitable for apiculture. Preparation work was necessary at each location to attract the bees and provide them with food plants, water, shelter and security.

Our first hives were set up at Kabami School where a teacher has been provided with training and the relevant kit.

ACE is providing initial setup funding but, once honey production starts, each school project must be self-supporting.

This picture shows Julian Willford who is the project leader for Bees Abroad in the Kisoro area. He is an experienced beekeeper and has been very helpful to Toby.

On 19th March, Toby wrote -

The first main site has been selected with a further three being prepared for later on in the year.

Kabami, to the South East of Kisoro lies right beside Lake Chahafi and is our first main site. It has been set up and the bees will be introduced before Easter. Unfortunately short sharp heavy showers in recent days have prevented travel to the site by even 4x4. The area has had additional plants put in place which have started to grow well and will supplement the bees' sources of nectar later on in the year.

The other sites of Nyarasunzu to the North near Bwindi National Park and Gitenderi & Rukongi to the South are progressing steadily. Preparing the areas for hives at these sites involves building small fences and adding trees at Rukongi & Gitenderi and clearing unwanted plants & material from the site at Nyarasunzu. This is then followed by adding more bee-friendly plants and a wide variety of flowers. When these areas are ready in a few months time then the beehives can be introduced.

In additon to this the site at Rukongi is waiting for the final crop to be cleared from an adjacent field before the compound is completed.

Production of honey from the site at Kabami is hoped to start in August 2010 with a first estimated harvest of between 40 & 50kg of honey. It is planned that, after installation, the hives at the other sites will produce the first harvest in early 2011 - of an estimated 100kg plus.

This site is close to the Schools Inspector, William's, house and all of his hives have bees in.

As can be seen, there is a mix of hives types.

The area on the island has been cleared well with a small area behind the site already having a natural colony of bees - the second such finding in the vicinity.

The variety of plant life at the site is very diverse and will produce a significantly sweet honey - in tune with that of Kisoro Honey.

A full day's work, with Benon (headmaster) & Eric (P7 teacher), prepared and built the compound. We worked from 10am to 5.30pm with only a short break of 30 minutes for lunch.

The bamboo fence was built first to enclose the area from prying eyes and the elements, as well as enabling even more foliage to grow.

A set of frames for the hives to be placed on was then built, using eucalyptus wood poles, which will in itself attract bees. This was followed by a eucalyptus leaf fence around 6 to 8ft tall, providing shade to half of the site.

On my return visit on April 6th 2010 I came across two hives with bees in within a week of placing hives in their final position.

The top bar hive that was placed on the triangular frame was the first to be colonised by the bees themselves - no buying of bees was necessary at all.

The bees did it themselves because the ingredients were perfect.

An interesting point to note - within a week of this fence being completed a bird has built its nest in the shelter of the fence. That's good conservation. Obviously the ingredients are good enough for the wildlife as well as the insect life - both of which are in an abundance.

A colony of bees that were already at the school in a big tree are still there and will be left until it is needed to move them. When this happens, they will be moved into a bamboo hive placed in at the site.

The land for the proposed site at Rukongi is within church land and they had to wait for the land to be cleared of the crop of potatoes before they could do anything else.

This they have done - and only two weeks after this was carried out, they have completed the site and were building frames and finishing off fences - very impressive work.

The land they have secured is slightly bigger than that in the original assessment, as, after negotiation, the school has been given extra land. This site was to be completed by my last visit to the school.

After negotiating with the church they have worked hard over the last two weeks to get the bee compound built and the teachers more interested. They have also got their night watchman involved in the bee project - as he keeps bees himself - this greatly reduces time spent teaching new staff.

The members of the school management committee, who are also from the church committee have planted moonflower around the outside of the field where the hive is and have also increased the bee friendly plants in the immediate vicinity. The committee is also looking into purchasing, through a contact of Victoria, the headmistress, some calliandra trees - bee friendly trees, to be planted to the south of the compound field.

The continual hard work at Rukongi has now meant that the school now joins Kabami in Phase 1.

Rukongi will now have a single bamboo hive in this phase 1 and additional hives will be placed in phase 2.

A plot of land has that belongs to the church surrounding Nyakabaya has been negotiated and given to the school for the purpose of beehives. It is situated behind the school and staff latrines away from the children. It provides a sufficient area for 3 hives initially and a possible 6 hives after some time of improving and growing suitable vegetation.

However the concerns over the amounts of potatoes in the area are still extremely valid. If more land is used for other crops then beekeeping would become more profitable in this area.

The area surrounding the school to the north is OK - however to the south, west and east it is not. This site needs to be assessed further when the area is supplanted with trees & flowers.

Since visiting a few weeks ago - small trees in this area have been cut down for growing beans - this will significantly hamper the planning stages of this site. This needs to grow first before the next stage is put in motion.

Although Mukibugu was dismissed from the initial study due to lack of land, long drawn out negotiations and advice given by me has landed the school a good plot of land otherwise left alone due to its rockiness.

This area is a good size, surrounded by diverse trees and flowers, is in easy reach of the school and in view, providing good security for the compound.

As with all the schools I have advised the Mukibugo to make the compound and get it growing well so the ingredients for the bees to stay long term are well in place. Mukibugu, due to its nearness to Mgahinga, has the potential to produce a good honey. The foundations need to be put in place by the school and the community supporting it.

Christophe has my full backing - he has worked well for me and has not failed in anything that I have asked him to carry out within time constraints.

The introduction of the hives at Kabami and the preparation of the sites at Gitenderi, Rukongi & Nyarasunzu have all met with increased enthusiasm.

Each site has its small minuses, however, the potential that can be unlocked in the schools and in the local communities is huge.

This project, if supported in the right way and moved forward correctly can have a massive impact on the lives of the children in the schools supported by ACE as well as the local communities.

Within the space of a week of setting the hives, 60% of the hives were occupied by the bees themselves, without having to place bees in the hives - saving money. A further 10% were occupied in the next 3 days following this.

Having this high percentage of hives occupied proves that the manner in which the set up of this initial trial has been carried out was done in such a way that the bees are happy - conservation in the right manner and a key ingredient to produce lots of good quality Kisoro Honey.

No trees - no bees - no honey - no money!!! .....

..... and we have the resources for all ..... it's just a simple case of using them!!!

We heard on 14th June that ACE has been awarded a grant of £1,331 from The Waterloo Foundation to enable us to continue to place hives at other schools and to provide beekeepers' equipment. We are very grateful to them for their support.

This is what we are proposing to do. All figures based on an exchange rate of 3,000 Ugandan Shillings (UGX) to £1.

All estimates have been for a mixture of hives with 2 protective suits for each school.

Toby is hoping to return in October to work further on the project. The work will be carried out over a period of time as several of the proposed sites are being prepared but are not yet ready.

When David Epidu visited the schools in September 2010 he was able to send back some exciting news from Kabami -

The Head told me that they harvested 4Kgs of honey from the two hives - one hive had most of the honey and the other had just very little.

The honey was sold for Shs 20,000/= and the money was used for buying an English text book and the receipt is kept by the head.

He also told me that it is normal to harvest little for the first time, but they expect much in the next harvest.

The school has also made three new beehives which they plan to add to the site.

Shs 20,000/= is about £5-6. Not a huge amount, but an encouraging start.