Our partner: KITWOBEE

KITWOBEE - The Kitgum Women Beekeepers' Association - is based in the Kitgum District, which is in the far north bordering with Sudan - and was formed by Mrs Margaret Ogaba, a local widow and grandmother, in response to the plight of the displaced, including her own family.

The level of poverty and the overwhelming number of orphans has left the situation out of hand. With farming the only viable source of income, but with their land eroded by war and neglect and the people living in over crowded camps, Mrs Ogaba set up the Bee Cooperative as a way out of this spiral of despair.

It is against this background that the KITWOBEE ladies are trying to salvage a future for families and for children who have lost their childhood.

By putting their resources together the women have seen a way of tackling the problem of providing for their families and the orphans through self-help. The membership has grown to 50 with 1140 outreach members, and with plans to increase to 900 women across the entire Acholi region.

Cord is funding vital beekeeping equipment, transport and training for the KITWOBEE members, so that they can flourish as an organisation.

The bees provide a nutritional and medicinal aid to the members' families, as well as generating an income. The Kitgum Honey, a delicious blend of honey, simsim and peanut, has already won prestigious awards for its quality and flavour. The by products - beeswax for candles and soap and propolis extract, sold for medical purposes- all supplement their income.

Beekeeping has been seen as traditionally a male province, and whilst men can support the cooperative, they are affectionately referred to as 'the drones' by the KITWOBEE ladies!