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Activity Report: Bangladesh
HFW Bangladesh is running projects in 40 villages in 3 districts. Women, youth, government officers, and other NGOs are all giving strong support. “\1 from Japan will give 15 taka” is the catchphrase among the people of the community. Their projects are also widely covered by newspaper + TV in Bangladesh.
■ Report
Utilizing our experience to improve the results of our beekeeping program.
Tasting freshly harvested honey |
Model hive |
HFW has been running a beekeeping project since 2002. The experience we have accumulated in this program was put to use in a new initiative carried out between April 2005 and March 2006 during which we succeeded in achieving better results than ever before.
One hundred local residents took part in HFW's beekeeping project since it started. They were chosen from among those with the lowest incomes in the area. Many participants were widowed or divorced single women, single parents, or unemployed young people. The goal of the program was to provide honey to the participants which they could consume themselves to improve their nutrition and also sell to earn an income.
During this project we also produced and distributed a 79-page manual on beekeeping. This manual includes information on bees, information on the health and cosmetic benefits of honey and honey based recipes, all of which is presented in an appealing way that makes the book an interesting read as well as a useful educational tool. It is also full of tips to help people sell the honey they produce.
This manual was also distributed to people who were not taking part in the project directly, and some residents to whom we could not provide equipment were able to use it to begin beekeeping on their own. Using a model beehive set up in Kaligonji we were able to provide training to an additional 55 residents not formally involved in the main project.
We are also developing initiatives to expand the market for honey. We have introduced special programs in junior high schools and high schools to teach students about the benefits of honey, distributed 5000 timetables with information about honey printed on them, and set up sign boards describing the nutritional value of honey in many different locations.
These initiatives are helping to increase participants' incomes. Two beehives are being provided, each one producing around 18kg of honey, resulting in an increase of 3600 Taka（around \7,000）in each participant's income.
The accumulated results of this project over several years have received a lot of praise and attention; we have been featured on national television and approached by experts, universities, and various members of the media.
The 100 people who participated in the project are now able to continue on their own and we plan to begin supporting a new group of local residents.（2006.8）
Past Reports; Bee keeping Project >>
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Message from Bangladesh
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I was scared of the bees at first. But after learning how to properly handle them, and that being stung was actually good for my body, I soon stopped thinking of them as something to be afraid of.
After getting this chance to improve our nutrition and increase our incomes we are able to approach the future with more confidence and hope. People have found the honey we produce to be of a high quality, and the local doctor even bought some and recommended it to his patients.
We were very proud when newspaper reporters and people from the government came to see our project. We are grateful to the people at HFW for their hard work and support. We wish all of you happiness. (Sheri Aktar, Mirpara village, BodaThana)
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List of development projects: Bangladesh 2004-2007
（Project name／Target group, number）
■ Past Field Reports; Bangladesh （Project name／Target group, number）
- Power of Art in community development／December 2005
- Diary of an intern／9 August, 2005〜23 September 2005
- Field Report by HFW Head Office Staff／January 2004
- Diary of HFW Head Office Staff／August 2003
- Field Report from Intern／6 February 2003〜7 March 2003
- National Youth Cnference of YEH／August 2003
- Baseline Survey／2002
- Children's Education／August 2002〜
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