Beekeeping Can Help End Poverty

Many of you know me (Toni Downs , Queen CariBEE) and many of you know my friend Isaac Semwanga  from Uganda. We were introduced via a mutual friend and have been corresponding using the Internet for several years. Isaac and I are both beekeepers and farmers and share many things in common. We live in similar latitudes and have discussed all things under the sun relating to beekeeping and farming. This year, I have scheduled a trip to go and visit Isaac and the Wampiti Beekeepers to see how they do things and show them ways of expanding their beekeeping business. While I am in Uganda, I will work with the group to establish a marketing plan for their honey and help develop other hive products we decide are easily made and transported. We will also make some beekeeping equipment and determine if the group can provide these items to other groups for a modest profit.
The Wampiti Beekeepers Association was registered in 2010 as a fully functional Community based organization under the Directorate of Community Services in Nakasongola District. The group currently has 83 active members and most have the skills and knowledge necessary in beekeeping but just need help getting materials. Wampiti is a poverty stricken community found in the Nakasongola District in Central Uganda. Isaac has mobilized community members to begin beekeeping as a source of income and you can see their progress by "Liking" their Facebook page (Blessed HoneyBee Centre Uganda ) or blogspot www.wampitibeekeepers.blogspot.com .
We are raising money to help underwrite this trip (I am paying for much of it on my own) and I would like to bring the following tools and materials to Uganda to give to the group as start-up capital:
*Metal and tools for making smokers (we will source bellows and later all material locally)
*Specialty zippers and veil material for beesuits and gloves (cloth to be sourced locally)
*Lye for soap making, wicking for candle making (the group will source replacement supplies locally)
*Hivetools, a refractometer, various other small tools that beekeepers find helpful
*Tablet and solar batteries w/ recharger for downloading and sharing beekeeping information in remote areas
The Wampiti Beekeepers Association has already hosted teaching events and interacted with other beekeeping groups in the area and I will be able to reach more than just their group during my visit. I am passionate about teaching beekeeping and ways to use bee products as a successful business and after corresponding with Isaac for so many years, I am anxious to go to Wampiti and meet with the beekeepers there. The environment in Uganda favors beekeeping and people have large areas of land on which they can practice beekeeping. There is no other serious economic activity in the area and therefore beekeeping is a very good way to find economic independence. We shall update you on the progress of the project and show the use of your funds through the above-mentioned Facebook and blospot pages, providing pictures and short videos so you can see our progress.