Simple suit that’s making women love the bees

When it rains, there is more flowering thus increased nectar and more honey is produced.

Marigat town in the heart of Baringo County is always as busy as a beehive, partly because it is the favourite destination for farmers selling their produce.

It is market day when I venture into the town, and the trading centre is teeming to the brim.

My destination, however, is the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation’s (Kalro) offices, some 20-minute drive from the trading centre.

At the Kalro offices, about 50 women belonging to Sinyat group based in Kiserian, Marigat sub-county engage in banter.

The group, which keeps bees, is at the centre to showcase their creation, a bee suit.

The women have come up with a bee suit made from gunny bags, which they wear while harvesting honey, with bee farming being a major economic activity in the region.

“We came with the kit over two years ago after finding it difficult relying on our men to do the harvesting for us.

Each time when we sent them to harvest honey because they would brave the stings, they would come back with half buckets,” recounts Christine Lewatachun, the chair.

(Read: Bees, the little insects that can put lots of cash in your pocket)

BEE STINGS CAN NOT PENETRATE

According to her, production of the kit costs about Sh300, with the money going to buying gunny bags, elastic bands, nets and paying for labour at a local tailoring shop.

“We use two gunny bags, one which is cut to produce a pair of trousers, while the other the top part, gloves and a hood,” she explains.

Like the machine-made honey-harvesting gear, theirs too has a protective net that covers the face and enables clear view.

“We have been using it for all this time without encountering any problem. Bee stings cannot penetrate our gear unless it is torn, making it reliable.”

(Read also: Bee rearing project sweetens the lives of Baringo farmers)

According to Christine, machine made honey-harvesting gears go for an average of Sh4,000, which is unaffordable to many farmers.

“We sell our gears at Sh700 each and hire at Sh200 per day to farmers who need. Last year we sold 20, this year we hope to surpass the number,” she says.

Faith Lekunosok, a beekeeper, says she has used the gear severally and finds it effective.

“Save for the sweating while in it, I have not found any other drawback. But I would rather bear the heat than bee stings or lose honey to our men.”

MORE WOMEN JOINING THE AGRIBUSINESS

On average, the group harvests 1,500kg of honey annually from their 14 hives, selling at Sh500 each.

“When it rains, there is usually more flowering thus more nectar and increased honey production. We sell our honey in local markets and during occasions such as farmers’ trainings, weddings, political gatherings and others,” says Christine.

Besides the honey, the group also uses beeswax to make petroleum jelly, which they sell at Sh200 for a 100g container.

David Palla, a bee product and standards official at State Department of Livestock, says the gunny bag bee suit is much better than cotton-made ones.

“The kit does not cause deaths to bees,” says Palla. “Bees normally sting on cotton fabric and die but they cannot penetrate nylon.”

Palla encourages use of nylon material in the manufacture of honey-harvesting gears.

National Honey Council chairman Nzainga Kithuma notes beekeeping is male-dominated in the region, with men harvesting honey without gear.

However, with such innovations, more women are joining the agribusiness amid growing demand for honey.