The western Jamaica based Hanover Bee Farmers Association (HBFA) has turned to the crowdfunding
platform iSupportJamaica.com in order to roll its beekeeping project.
HBFA is trying to raise J$390, 000 or US$3,900,
which will be used to run an intensive training programme for 30 unemployed youth. The youngsters will be exposed to the theoretical aspect of
beekeeping while zeroing in on more technical things such as box making. At the
end of the two-month training initiative, the teenagers, who hail from varying
communities within the parishes of Westmoreland and Hanover, will be required
to participate in a two-week internship programme.
“It is remarkable what the Hanover Bee Farmers
Association is trying to achieve with these youngsters. Many of them have
finished school and have been unemployed for some time now. It’s going to be
interesting to see how impactful a project, like this one, will be on the lives
of the participants,” said Saffrey Brown, General Manager of the JN Foundation. She added: “What I like
especially about this project is the fact that once the training has been
completed, the teenagers are placed to work alongside bee farmers as part of
their internship. This, I’m sure, will be mind blowing for them... as they’ll be
able to apply all that they’ve learned during the training programme.”
CREDIBLE ORGANISATION
Hanover is known for producing some of the tastiest honey in the world. So it was easy for the Hanover Bee Farmers’
Association to develop a project of this nature. Back in 2010, with grant
funding from the JN Foundation, the Association implemented a project that saw
some 60 farmers, aged 18 - 80, recovering from the extensive damage caused by
Tropical Storm Nicole. This speaks volume to the kind of work HBFA is capable
of doing.
CROWDFUNDING EXPLAINED
So perhaps you’re wondering to yourself: ”What
exactly is crowdfunding anyway?” Remember the Jamaican adage ‘One, one cocoa
full basket’? Well... crowdfunding allows people, community development
organisations and businesses to leverage the power of the Internet to raise
funds for their respective projects and businesses. This video illustrates how iSupportJamaica.com
a Caribbean-based crowdfunding website operates:
Donations made to this project will go towards training and the purchase of the starter
kits for all 30 trainees, which include two boxes, a hive,
and a smoke veil.
What are your expectations of HBFA’s beekeeping
training programme? Share it on our Facebook page – and let us know…
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