Poland - Agriculture and Tourism Development

Project Overview:

Located near the Serbian border, northeast of the capital of Kosovo, Prishtina, and the village of Dabishec offers few employment opportunities to residents. Heifer’s project here is providing unemployed women in the village a chance to improve their economic situations by providing each participant with four bee families.

In addition to bees, each participant will receive trainings throughout the project. An additional 20 families will benefit from Passing on the Gift (POG), doubling the project’s impact. The project will also organize literacy courses for all participants.

Bee farmers are receiving training to increase their knowledge of breeding bees. This, coupled with the training in animal healthcare and medications, has already resulted in quality honey production. In some cases, 2.2 pounds of honey sold for more than USD$24.

Key Updates:

• The original recipient families have the knowledge to treat their own bees and help farmers who received their bees through POG.
• Three new families received POG gifts.
• Project farmers attended eight trainings and were supplied with bee feed and fruit saplings.
• Increased honey production has allowed the farmers to sell their excess honey for supplemental income.
• 50 percent of women participants in the project can now read and write.