In 2022, little did Aruna Bangura know that observing the changing environment and land use practices around his community would make him start beekeeping. The area just outside Tiwai Island, a protected wildlife sanctuary spread across 1,200 hectares (2,900 acres) in Sierra Leone, had a dearth of bees, he found. “I observed that the bee population was declining, and starting a beekeeping initiative was the only alternative in sight,” says Bangura, a 24-year-old from the Boma community. He founded Bangs Circular, a local organization for sustainable beekeeping practices across eight communities surrounding the island in the Eastern and Southern provinces. They began the Tiwai Honey Project, which builds hand-made beehives for the native Western African honey bee (Apis mellifera adansonii). These hives that closely monitor bees and their behavior help attract more bees compared to the traditional method, generating more honey and profit for locals so they can reduce their dependence on logging to make and sell charcoal. The effort also engages community people in restoring natural habitats through reforestation around the wildlife sanctuary. The aim is to then reduce deforestation and degradation in order to increase the bee population, which could also increase honey harvesting. Aruna and the Tiwai Honey Initiative beekeepers. Image © Ezekiel Kargbo for The Iris Project. The impacts of the project are yet to be independently assessed, but so far it won the Iris Project’s Stem Prize — awarded for innovations by youth — in 2024, which gave them $10,000 to kick off the project…This article was originally published on Mongabay
The post How a young beekeeper’s initiative brought hope and profit to Sierra Leone communities first appeared on EnviroLink Network.