World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009 - (Page 25)

A sign points the way to Cooperativa Apicola Pionera de Honduras Limitada at center, where Jose Victor Amaya, left, constructs beehives and Filberto Caceres, right, bottles honey after the cleaning process. season. Prices for both services fluctuate. as proof of their success, the couple’s two children are in high school, whereas most honduran children only receive a sixth-grade education because they have to enter the work force to help support their families. the co-op—Santos is the secretary of her women’s group— bautista has also branched out into other areas for himself. in training, bautista found that he has a skill for breeding the bees. he now crossbreeds his bees and sells bees and beehives. he also earns extra income by renting his hives to farmers in the southern part of honduras who need their crops and flowering plants pollinated during the growing B Community Effort autista is one of many beekeepers whose lives have changed because of the partnership between the co-op and heifer. There are also many other women from Santos’ women’s group in Santiago de Puringla who share the benefits. Many women in this group pull double duty when it comes to working with the cooperative. They oversee hives and honey production and work as a part of the group making wax laminates. adelina hernández is one of those women. hernández, 33, has five children between the ages of 3 and 15 years. She received bees in 2004 after working for many years growing coffee. during this time she also raised chickens and corn for the family to eat so they could save money by reducing the amount food they had to buy. for four years, the money the honey brought in was substantial, hernández says. The honey provided enough money to send all of her children to school and allowed her and her husband to make several home improvements. This year hernández says the harvests were poorer than normal. with an overabundance of rain and a cooler than normal climate, many keepers lost hives. hernández says the climate affected the number of plants for the bees to pollinate. despite the poor weather, hernández still managed a decent harvest in february from her 20 hives. She sells the larger part of her honey to the cooperative but says she saves some to sell to neighbors and others in town. “in general the beehives have been a benefit,” hernández says. “[Selling the honey] has helped send the children to school.” januar y/f e bruar y 2009 | wor ld a r k w w w. h e i f e r . o rg 25 http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009

World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked and Answered Microfinance: A Lot for a Little Business is Buzzing in Honduras The World Grows Smaller Mixed Media Heifer Spirit Heifer Bulletin Calendar First Person

World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009

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