Farming has been my family’s main income for many years. The training from the MaYEA program changed how we look at beekeeping. Now, I am fully focused on beekeeping.

I’m Lubaba Hassen, and I live in Amhara Region, Oromia special zone, Bati woreda, specifically in kuni village Kuni village with my wonderful husband and our five amazing kids. We mainly depend on farming, focusing on growing cereal crops. As my husband’s partner in farming, I helped out with the crops, but honestly, our income was just enough to get by. I hadn’t thought much about other ways to earn money or even consider beekeeping, even though we had the opportunity right on our farm.

We were so focused on our crops that we missed out on the chance to earn some extra income from honey. For years, I mainly depended on my husband for our family's finances. Selling our crops brought in limited money, which made it tough for me to contribute. Four years ago, we decided to try out beekeeping with just one traditional beehive. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage it well. My husband received six modern beehives from the government, but they weren’t properly looked after, and we only ended up with 36 kg of honey. Everything changed when I joined the MaYEA 

program.

This project supports young people, especially women like me by providing valuable training both practical and theoretical. Through this program, I learned how to manage beekeeping effectively. It transformed my perspective on beekeeping; I began to see it as a real business that could increase my income and give me financial independence. I also discovered that women can truly thrive in beekeeping! This realization opened my eyes to the incredible potential of this field, and I’m genuinely excited about what the future holds.

After completing my beekeeping training, my outlook on this business transformed! together with my husband, we set up our beekeeping activity in our backyard. Working side by side while doing house chores has been a joy. With the skills I gained, I started with five bee colonies and built transitional hives. This year, I harvested over 70 kilograms of honey from six modern hives, earning about 200,000 birr, which has significantly improved our family's income. Now, I manage 13 beehives—six modern, five transitional, and two traditional. I’m excited to relocate my setup to a fruit farm, ideal for my bees. I'm also planning to expand by selling bee colonies and other bee-related products. Beekeeping has become more than a hobby; it’s a promising venture for my family’s future. I’m grateful for the MaYEA program and the experts who have supported me. Their guidance has shown me the importance of learning and skill development in this field. My journey exhibits what women can achieve in beekeeping and how we can improve our families' financial situations with dedication and support.