My bees protect this beautiful forest

Joseph Maritim and his workers in his forest farm in Londiani, Kericho. PHOTO | ANDREW MIBEI |

What you need to know:

  • Francis Maritim is a member of the Ogiek community, who in the olden days were forest dwellers and relied on bush meat and honey for survival.
  • The initial harvest in 2012 and last year saw Maritim about Sh700,000 from the honey that he sold to Baraka Farm in Molo.

The healthy maize plants in the farms allocated to residents of Kiplokyi, Kericho inside Londiani Forest are at the flowering and seeding stage.

Thus, there is the unmistakable buzz of hundreds of bees collecting nectar. In Francis Maritim’s farm, the buzz increases as one approaches a space full of flowers and beehives.

“I have over 200 hives in this space of over quarter an acre,” Maritim tells Seeds of Gold.

He is a member of the Ogiek community, who in the olden days were forest dwellers and relied on bush meat and honey for survival.

The farmer says he has interacted with bees for all his 48 years. However, it is only three years ago that with other members of his community, they formed a group known as Community Forest Association (CFA), which enabled him to set up the apiary in the forest.

“We picked bee keeping because the members felt comfortable with the activity.”

Kenya Forest Service allocated them the space in the forest to grow crops and keep bees as part of an initiative to conserve the natural habitat.

However, according to him, some members of the community were not keen on the project while others expected the government to offer them everything, including setting up the hives.

After attending a workshop on bee keeping in Molo, Maritim learnt that a good beehive should be kept dry and warm.

Traditionally, the Ogieks used barks of trees to keep the hives warm. However, Maritim went for used carton boxes, which he wrapped round the hives.

On top of the carton, he wrapped a polythene sheet before covering the top with iron sheet to keep the hive dry and durable.

He has also fitted a small hinged door to all his modified hives thus making access to the honey easy.

Each hive gives him 16kg of honey every season that sells at Sh600 per kilo.

“The hives look like the traditional ones but I do not need to dismantle them every time I harvest. The big door makes it possible for me to simply pick the honey combs, ensuring that the bees do not migrate,” Maritim tells Seeds of Gold.

EXPECTS MORE

The initial harvest in 2012 and last year saw Maritim about Sh700,000 from the honey that he sold to Baraka Farm in Molo, an agricultural training institute. This year he expects more.

“I intend to have 1,000 hives by the end of this year.”

Maritim has planted different flowers close to his hives but the most common one is the Ladies’ Eardrop (Fuschia), which attracts bees throughout the year. He bought them at a cost of Sh50,000.

He has also dug shallow water pans and placed floating pieces of wood to enable the bees get water easily.

During Seeds of Gold’s visit, Maritim had close to 20 workers planting eucalyptus trees, which have flowers that are popular with bees.

The chairman of Makutano Forest Community Association in Londiani, Johana Langat, says that establishment of CFAs is aimed at involving the community in forest conservation. He says members establish tree nurseries, plant crops and graze in the forest.

“When people see direct benefits from the forest, they have reason to conserve it,” Langat says. Residents pay Sh350 for every half acre of forest land annually.