50 families from Somaliland will be supported to establish profitable apiaries by selling honey locally and exporting beeswax to Wales, thanks to funding from the Welsh Government’s Wales for Africa programme.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
Beeswax, usually seen as a by-product of bee keeping, will be made into artisan candles by members of the Somaliland diaspora community in Wales and sold from their Bees for Development shop in Monmouth, south Wales.
Wales-based organisation Bees for Development has been awarded £15,000 funding through the Welsh Government’s Wales for Africa programme to facilitate the project. They are working with a partner organisation in Ethiopia to provide training in Beekeeping skills in Somaliland.
As the country is prone to drought, livestock can be lost. Beekeeping provides an invaluable alternative source of income to support families and raise funds to replace livestock. It is estimated 300 people will benefit from the project.
This is one of 11 Wales-Africa projects that have been awarded funding through the Welsh Government’s Wales for Africa Grant Scheme.
The grant scheme is the Welsh Government’s flagship initiative for Wales-Africa partnership working. It enables community groups and organisations throughout Wales to access funding for small-scale Wales-Africa projects that have a positive impact, both in Africa and in Wales.
In this latest round, £131,380 funding has been awarded to projects around four themes: health, sustainable livelihoods, lifelong learning, and climate change and environment.
There is an exciting array of different projects, from a project running pop-up vaccination clinics in Uganda to help vaccinate children from life threatening diseases, to a project in Tanzania, shipping sewing machines restored by Welsh volunteers to groups of women who will then use them to create a sustainable livelihood through making and repairing fabrics and clothes.
Welsh Government’s Minister for International Relations, Eluned Morgan said:
“Our Wales for Africa Grant Scheme has gone from strength to strength by supporting the diaspora communities in Wales and establishing links with sub Saharan Africa. These grants help transform the lives of tens of thousands of people from across this beautiful and diverse continent every year.
“I am very proud we continue to build relationships between Wales and Africa which not only improves lives in Africa, but brings huge benefits to Wales, by allowing volunteers to exchange skills and have truly life-changing experiences.
“Through our Wales for Africa programme, we are demonstrating our strong commitment to making Wales a globally responsible nation.”
The 11 successful projects will work across North, South and mid Wales; partnering with a range of African countries, including Ethiopia, Lesotho, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Somaliland and Tanzania.
The Wales for Africa Grant Scheme is expected to open for applications again in July for small grants between £500 and £4,999. Applications for grants between £5,000 and £15,000 are anticipated to re-open in early 2020.