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Beekeeping Cooperatives

​This project provides equipment, training and education for the  establishment of beekeeping cooperatives in the San Miguel rural  communities.  

​The cooperatives provide honey and bee  products for family  health and to supplement family income. Honey is an important food source, a  natural antibiotic, and it helps diminish  allergies.

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​Beekeeping for Family Health and Profit

“I used to be afraid of bees but now I know they are my good friends,” said Norma as she carefully opens one of the beehives in her village for the first time. “I don’t even mind if they sting me once in a while.” Norma, her neighbors, and cooperating partners have been busy (as bees!) working toward this moment: organizing themselves into a village cooperative, attending classes and workshops in beekeeping, obtaining hives and equipment.

Bees can live just about any place where flowers bloom, especially the mesquite trees in the country around San Miguel. Basic beekeeping doesn’t require huge amounts of money, time or space. However, the equipment and funds required are far beyond the resources of Rosa and her neighbors. Norma and her neighbors had to learn how to manage their bees. Expertise, training and funding came from three partners: CEDESA, ANSANG and Rotary San Miguel Midday.

Why is beekeeping an excellent project to improve Norma’s village?

• Beekeeping can be done on flex time! Women have the greatest burden on their time in the family--They take care of the kids, the husband, and do thousands of things to run their household. They cannot have jobs that require them to hold regular working hours.
• As part of the beekeeping , each cooperative plants trees and flowers that provide food for the bees and improve the environment of the village.
• Honey is an important food source, a natural antibiotic, and helps to diminish allergies.
• Honey is a highly saleable product at a relatively high price. Income from the sale of honey allows women to have money of their own.
• Project organizers teach women how to convert honey into other products that are useful and saleable: Bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis—even bee poison, have medicinal properties. Beeswax is used for making candles, ointments, and cosmetics.
• Bees are important for pollination of crops. With declining bee populations worldwide this is a big concern.

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The Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende - Midday
Club 70057 - Rotary District 4140
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico