Owning bees changed my life for good – Hassan Masereka

My name is Maseraka Hasan a resident of Kaisamba zone, karangura sub county Kabarole district in Mid-Western Uganda. I started beekeeping in 2015, after completing my senior 6 but couldn’t go further because of school fees. For long my father had been in beekeeping and would make some little money out of it that he supported me with. After spending some reasonable time at home out of school with him, he encouraged me to join him in beekeeping with a promise to teach me how to make my own hives. A week after I joined him, I made 2 local hives using available materials, which I thereafter baited and sited. The good thing they colonized within a few days and after 4 months of siting, I harvested 6 kg in each which I sold locally at a cost of 10,000 Ugx per kg.

With the 86 colonies my average production stands at 1.2 tons a year worth 11milion a year.

Towards the end of 2019, I got to hear of TUNADO at Bunyangabu beekeepers cooperative BBC. Through BBC with support from TUNADO, I enrolled for a six months beekeeping training which motivated me to add ten more hives to what I previously had. Within that period, I equally received 4 more hives this time around KTB I added to the ten and sited them at once. From the 16 hives I harvested 107kg of honey which I sold to BBC our rural transformational center and bought 2 goats from part of the proceeds. However, a friend later on advised me not to invest all my money in animals but also buy more hives.

Before TUNADO came in, my hives were scattered and management was challenging. With the several trainings, I learnt that apiary establishment is key in beekeeping management. This made me establish an apiary accommodating 96 hives

(40KTB and local 86 of which are colonized), grew forage, fenced with the bee champion project I managed to get gears, boots.
With the 86 colonies my average production stands at 1.2 tons a year worth 11milion a year.

Because of beekeeping;

• I am now a beekeeping trainer within my community which earns me money
• I started a small business for my wife
• I have bought two plots of land within my vicinity were I plan to construct a camp site and another apiary
• I am now a model farmer in my community
• I have been exposed to several beekeepers from whom I have learnt and acquired more knowledge in beekeeping
• I have encouraged my neighbors to equally join the

I call upon fellow youth to embrace beekeeping as an income generating agro-enterprise. With bees they will not regret.