Browsing: tanzania beeswax

On the slopes of the Usambara ranges on the Eastern region of Tanzania, lays the Usambara forests sprawled across miles and miles of undulating old fold mountains.

Under this thick canopy, walks Juma, 45 yr old farmer and his daughter Halima, 15 and in secondary school.

As they regularly do, they have in hand several tools and containers, as they approach a clearing, we find out why they are here, and what the equipment in hand is for. The distant humming alerts us to the beehives up ahead and when Juma adorns his netted face guarding mask, transforming into some kind of astro-peasant, it is clear he is a beekeeper and it is time to harvest honey.

In Tanzania beekeeping is estimated to generate about USD 1.7 million each year from sales of honey and beeswax alone. And in rural Tanzania, it employs about 2 million farmers like Juma and …