Past Projects

 “Bee Diverse” Creating diverse and sustainable income opportunities in the apiculture sector in Northern Uganda (BDMF).

BDMF is 3-year project, funded by European Union through Woord en Daad, a faith based organisation in Netherlands. The project is implemented by TUNADO in partnership with Alcode consult. The project works processing and equipment companies in greater northern Uganda (West Nile, Mid North and North Eastern regions).
BDMF provides young (fe) male beekeepers and employees and service providers an opportunity to generate a sustainable income and employment by promoting a competitive, sustainable and diverse apiculture sector in Northern Uganda.
BDMF provides the target group with a matching financial support to start or expand business initiatives in the apiculture sector and combines capital with business development services (BDS) and technical training to address the demands and needs of the target group, ensuring that issues as identified by the actors are addressed.

 Development of the Apiary Value Chain in Karamoja.

This project is a sub component of a bigger programme under Mercy Corps titled “Apolou”.  This programme is a USAID Food for Peace initiative with the goal to improve the food and nutrition security of vulnerable households in the Kaabong, Kotido, Moroto, and Amudat districts of Karamoja.
The project is grounded under the fourth Apolou purpose of: ‘Improved livelihoods and incomes support to household food security’.
Under this purpose, the project intends to:

  • Build   the capacity of honey producers to maximize their honey production both in quantity and quality.
  •  Create   strong business linkages through linking small and medium scale honey enterprises to profitable markets at the regional and national levels.

Achievements of the project

  • Compressively trained 17 Apiary Champions (ACs) who are now conducting extension services in the districts of Kotido, Kaabong, Karenga, Moroto and Amudat.
  • Translated and printed out 100 copies of the national Beekeeping Training posters for extension purposes. The languages are IK, Ngakarimojong, and Pokot for use when conducting training for the beekeepers.
  • Took 17 beekeepers and 4 district Local Government staff from the project districts of Kotido, Kaabong, Moroto and Amudat for a hands on learning visit to Lira.
  • Organized a mini-exhibition in Kotido town in which processors and beekeepers interacted and also made business to business linkages.

 

Apiculture Skilling for Youths from Refugee and Host Communities in Arua District:

This was a one-year 2018-2019 pilot project funded by European Union and Government of Uganda, through Enabel under Skills Development Facility. The project was implemented by TUNADO in partnership with Oxfam- Uganda. The project was implemented in Arua district, Odupi Sub County and Imvepi settlement camp and reached 350 youth (105 from the host community and 245 refugees from the settlement camp).
The Specific objectives of the project were:

  • To equip 350 refugee and host community youth (210 female and 140 male) in Arua district with life, employable and entrepreneurship skills for sustained livelihood in apiculture.
  • To support creation of 25 apiculture related micro, small and medium Enterprises (MSME) for refugee and host community youth and link them to market.

Achievements of the project

  • By the end of the project, a total of 30 youth were trained in making hives (KTB, Johnson and Langstroth), 30 in protective gear making, 20 in making smoker, 30 in making Beeswax soap, 20 in making Decorative candles, 30 in making Beeswax shoe polish, 25 in making Propolis tincture, 30 trainees in making Honey cookies, 30 in making bees wax jelly and 105 in apiary establishment and management.
  • Established 5 apiary learning centres with an average of 12 colonies each
  • Establishment a total of 25 apicultural micro enterprises with in the camp. Sofa refuges have opened and are running business in soap making, honey cookies, propolis tincture, beeswax jelly, shoe polish, tailoring shop, hive making etc.
  • Accreditation of TUNADO as an assessment center by directorate of industrial training DIT.
  • Graduated a total of 245 youth with a modular certificate by DIT
  • Registered a total of 35 apiculture enterprises with Odupi sub county

 

Uganda Beeswax Skills and Trade Project:

This project was funded under the Skills Development Facility (SDF) through Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU). The project aimed at:

  • Reducing wastage of honeycombs by beekeepers that leads to loss of income and attracts pests
  • Building capacity of beekeepers to extract beeswax from both wet and dry combs
  • Improving profitability of beeswax through streamlining markets

In order to achieve the above objectives, the project will focused on five major components as indicated below;

  • Beekeepers able to process beeswax to make ‘first-stage’ beeswax block for sale
  • Bee-product associations and companies able to process ‘first-stage’ blocks into clean and re-shaped ‘second-stage’ beeswax block for export
  • Bee product associations and companies [medium/large scale] able to process large volumes of honey comb with residual honey (after honey has been separated) into clean beeswax blocks using a two-stage or one-stage process e.g. honey comb steamer or water-based melter
  • Appropriate equipment which can made at low-cost in Uganda, developed, tested, approved for the purpose of (a) processing of combs with coarse debris e.g. pupal skins (b) continual feed processing, for large scale operation (c) processing honey comb with residual honey
  • Bee product associations and companies [medium/large scale] have knowledge of the international beeswax market, prices, buyers, product expectations, licensing requirements.

Key achievements of the project.

  • Trained a total of 950 beekeepers organised in 35 beekeeping groups and associations makig affordable a sola wax meltor. It’s now easy for beekeepers to extract beeswax than before using low cost solar wax extractor.
  • Successfully trained 10 big companies involved in beeswax processing and trade in beeswax processing, cleaning, remodeling and packing using three different methods.
  • Fabricated a low cost Steam wax clarifier and Api melter. it’s  TUNADO’s  pleasure to mention that  for the first time ever, sector players now have access to affordable and user friendly  solar wax extractors and steam cleaner ready on the market.
  • Identification and linkage of   international (UK) and regional (East Africa) beeswax markets to Ugandan beeswax processing companies

Development of beeswax extraction, processing and marketing manual