"More Than Honey: A Family's Journey to Resilience"

Medhin Tadese, a 30-year-old woman, has been married to her husband, Tekele Kiros, for 12 years. Tekele Kiros, a military veteran who lost his eyesight during service, and Medhin have been trying to support their family through irregular livelihoods. This is their testimony about what they gained after participating in the MaYEA Program, implemented by The Well in Action in the Shire Cluster, led by ORDA Ethiopia with support from the Mastercard Foundation.

Medhin Tadese smiles as she recalls the joy of earning a significant amount of income. Mai Suru Kebele, Ahferom Woreda, Tigray Region, April 30, 2026.

I am Medhin Tadese. Before joining MaYEA in beekeeping, our main source of livelihood was farming. Since we did not own farmland, we rented land and shared the harvest with the landowner. We planted teff, sorghum, and wheat, and I worked alongside my husband, helping with planting and weeding. Despite all our efforts, most of the harvest was just enough to feed our family. To bring in a little extra income, I raised chickens and sold cactus pears during the harvest season.

At that time, we owned only two beehives. Because our home was not suitable for keeping bees, we had to place them at a relative’s house. We never imagined that beekeeping would one day become a business until we tasted the first harvest due to MaYEA.

"The opportunity to attend beekeeping training through the MaYEA program brought a new chapter in my life. It gave me the knowledge and motivation."

After completing the training, I bought a hive and harvested 27 kilograms of honey from just one modern hive. The honey was clean, white, and highly valued in the market. I sold the honey for 1,900 ETB per kilogram, earned 52,000 ETB, and customers came directly to my home because they had heard about its quality.

I am not someone who is used to handling large amounts of money, so receiving 52,000 ETB made me very happy. I thought to myself, "So this business can really generate this much income."

The loan was delayed, but I borrowed from relatives and purchased eight colonies for 8,500 ETB each and three modern hives, hoping I would return the money when the program loan arrived.

I received a 63,000 ETB loan facilitated by the MaYEA program. Combining the earnings from the honey sale, I repaid the money I borrowed to buy the hives.

Today, our hives have grown to include three modern, six traditional, and one transitional hive. We are working hard to replace all our traditional hives with modern ones because we have seen the difference they make in production and income. We also placed our transitional hive in an irrigated area to help the colony grow stronger.

Left: Medhin Tadese supervises the family's beehives. Right: Her husband, Tekele Kiros, performs a traditional Tigrigna song. Mai Suru Kebele, Ahferom Woreda, Tigray Region, April 30, 2026.

My husband has been an important partner throughout this journey. Because the honey badger is common in our area, he spends time guarding the hives whenever he is at home. When he is away for work, I take on that responsibility myself. Together, we protect and manage our Hives.

Even though we have limited space, we are exploring creative ways to expand, including placing additional hives in every suitable space around our home.

The success we have seen so far gives us great hope for the future. This year, the rainfall has been good, and because one modern hive has already produced 27 kilograms of honey, we expect much higher production from our three modern hives during the next harvest season, from October to December 2026. Once we finish repaying the MaYEA loan, we plan to diversify our income by investing in goat and poultry production alongside beekeeping.

The MaYEA Program facilitated loans totaling ETB 13,024,412 to 400 young people in Ahferom Woreda, including 209 women and 191 men, enabling them to invest in sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Among them, 31 youth, including 23 women, received a combined ETB 2,080,232.50 to start beekeeping under the program's apiculture business package. Medhin is one of the participants who accessed this financial support to launch her beekeeping business.

Medhin says, “For the first time, I realized that beekeeping was not just a small activity; it was a real business that could bring substantial money into our future.”