A RESILIENCE JOURNEY AND HOP IN BEEKEEPING

My name is Etsegenet Tarekegn. I am a beekeeper, married, and a father of 3. My inspiration was my uncle, who practiced traditional beekeeping. I remember how he managed the bees and the honey harvest I tasted at a young age. As soon as I completed high school, I began beekeeping with one Modern hive I bought on credit, with a little training I received from the local agricultural bureau.

At that time, I didn't know how beekeeping worked. It took me a couple of years of observation and experimentation to see the first fruits of my beekeeping efforts. Gradually, I increased my hives to 18 and was able to earn about 120,000 ETB per season.

The MaYEA Program is being implemented in the Tigray region in collaboration with The Well in Action under ORDA Ethiopia lead in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. The Program provided the target participants with soft skills, essential bee colony management, transitional hive construction, colony multiplication, allied value chain, and community-based beekeeping mentoring training.

Etsegenet, one of the MaYEA program participants who serves also as a community-based beekeeping Mentor and resides in Tahtay Koraro, recalls how the MaYEA Program approached him: “As I was expecting substantial earning from honey harvest, a war erupted in the northern region of Ethiopia in October 2020. The devastation was overwhelming; we lost nearly everything, and many of our bees migrated and died. With the 30,000 birr aid I received from the International Committee for the Red Cross and the skills I acquired from The Well in Action, I was able to rebuild my apiary to 33 hives.

It was during this difficult time that I was introduced to the MaYEA program by a local agricultural expert who has known me as an existing beekeeper for a long time. Initially, I had no expectations and felt discouraged by the limited training I had previously received. However, I decided to check out what the MaYEA program offers. I was surprised by the information provided. I learned that the program lasts for five years and a participant will be provided with practical training and loan provision. Then, I decided to be part of the program, hoping I would benefit a lot from it.

Among the various lessons, I found the training on splitting hives to be the most transformative. I learned that during harvest season, a single hive could yield more than ten new hives. This disclosure not only saved me precious time but also discovered the possibility of selling new hives to other beekeepers in the community. Before this training, finding new hives had been challenging. I reproduced thirteen hives through swarming and splitting colonies, successfully putting the skills I gained into practice.

I also learned how to manage honey better. I now know how to keep it clean, control its quality, and store it properly. My past practices had relied on traditional methods, but now I understood the importance of scientific standards. Previously, I had been purchasing beeswax from the market, but with the training I got, I am now equipped with the knowledge to produce my beeswax and can use every byproduct of the honey-making process.

This 2025 harvest season, I produced 10 kilograms of beeswax for myself, buying only 3 kilograms. The beeswax price is high, it costs up to 1200 birr, which is equivalent to the price of a kilogram of honey. It also requires traveling to the Waldiba province to get it.

The 2025-year harvest season was giving, and I harvested three quintals of high-quality honey, drawing customers even from Addis Ababa. I expect 450,000 ETB from the total sale. I heard that we will be provided with land. I believe the youth, the new beekeepers, and we, the existing beekeepers, will benefit from the facilitated loan and shades, which will help us expand the beekeeping practice.

I envision seeing my mentees succeed and seeing our brand in international markets. I thank the MaYEA program for equipping us with the necessary knowledge.

The MaYEA program is implemented in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. #MastercardFoundation