Passing on the Bees

The partnership between Heifer International and Cooperativa Apicola Pionera de Honduras Limitada, or COAPIHL, began six years ago when the main cash crop, coffee, fell to 30-year lows because of a glut on the market. Throughout the course of this project, Heifer offered beehives, flowering trees and training to help small farmers increase pollination, family income and to diversify operations so they had another product, honey, to sell at local markets.

Because it is difficult to pass on the gift of an offspring from the original bees, recipients were given different options to fulfill this important aspect of each Heifer project. Beekeepers could choose among three ways to pass on the gift. The first was to repay in cash the cost of the beehives they received, which COAPIHL would then use to buy 10 more hives for a new beekeeper. Another way was to produce the amount of honey or pollen that would cover the cost of 10 hives. Lastly, because each beneficiary received training on reproducing bees, he or she could choose to reproduce the hives for another in need. In that case, the cooperative would transport the hives to the pass-on recipient.

Because of its success, Heifer completed its investment in this specific project in the summer of 2008, though it will work with COAPIHL and eight other groups through 2012 to strengthen microenterprise initiatives, including beekeeping work, in other areas of Honduras.