by Lucy King

Its honey harvesting season in Ngare Mara and we are delighted to report that the farmers with beehive fences protecting their farms from elephant invasions have collected 106 kgs of honey from the hives. This is much more than I expected but it shows what a good rainy season we have just had. The bees are in approximately 45% of the hives at the moment which is good and with so many flowers around the honey is pouring out.

We have designed some new labels for our honey which we have coined “Elephant-Friendly Honey” and we hope to raise some more awareness of the project through this enterprise.

We have been donated some old jars and pots from my friends in Nairobi which are now adding value to the cost of the honey when the farmers go to sell in Isiolo so they are delighted with the gift. So far our record hive has given 15 kgs of honey from one hive which was occupied for 6 months before it was harvested.

If you would like to hear more about the project do have a look at www.elephantsandbees.com.