Beekeeping is a traditional activity in the rural Nepalese context. People rear a few hives of bees for generations. It is an element of sustenance agricultural practice in order to collect honey for household consumption. People believe that houses that have bees in them harbor good luck. People keep Asian honey bees for generations to possess that lucky charm more than that of collecting honey.
In the last decade, beekeeping has been emerging as an enterprise due to its easiness, and suitability in Nepal whereas the Government of Nepal has also been emphasizing applying to the local sustainable agri-enterprises.
25 women from Badhganga Municipality, Kapilvastu district in Nepal have initiated a beekeeping enterprise in a group. These women had honey in their lifeblood. Their respective families have been keeping few beehives for generations but never reared them for profit.
The enthusiastic female beekeepers have started beekeeping enterprise rearing 20 beehives per person in groups. They have altogether 500 beehives producing 10, 000 kilograms of honey every year. These women beekeepers have been able to make surplus income from their locally led beekeeping enterprise while handling all their household chores and their children. “From the last three years, we have been really busy and this time it’s all for productive causes”, says Sushila Ghimire, chairperson of the Badhganga Women Beekeepers Group.
In the coming days, the Badhganga Women Beekeepers Group want to accelerate their entrepreneurship activity by scaling up their production and sales whereas they are also willing to be a messenger for other women who are interested in a similar kind of entrepreneurship activity.
