15/04/2024
BEEKEEPING.
Beekeeping first became a commercial activity in Zambia when Portuguese traders from Angola came searching for beeswax in the 1890s. Honey was not traded in those early days, but used to brew a local beer, mbote. Even today, mbote is a popular drink, especially in Northwestern Province, and an estimated 600-700 tones of honey are converted into honey beer, annually. Mbote brewing and sale is typically done by women at their homes. The majority of these traders are single or widowed, with little Education and no alternative sources of income. Beer brewers often use second graded honey, with high pollen and moisture contents, which are considered to speed up the fermentation process.
Most of table honey is sold on informal markets, along major roads, in homestead shops or door to-door. Volumes traded in this way, as well as the number of people are involved.
With this regard, our role as LOCEF is to engage different traditions to learn how they can become beekeepers and become suppliers of honey on the market.
