Research and education for sustainability in a beekeepingproject in sub-Saharan Africa

F. Nazzi • D. Annoscia • S. Del Fabbro • F. Del Piccolo

Received: 6 June 2013 / Accepted: 23 October 2013� Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Abstract Support to small farmers is at the heart of the fight against poverty. However,

the continuous provision of support poses a major challenge which greatly affects the

sustainability of development-related projects. Using a research and education approach, in

which beekeeping was introduced into the curriculum of two secondary schools, we tested

the potential of knowledge transfer as a means of promoting beekeeping. In this paper, we

show that, with an educational program tailored to the audience needs, knowledge transfer

and self-start-ups ensure better sustainability than material support. We further discuss the

implications of these results in the sustenance of beekeeping as a development-related

activity.

Keywords Beekeeping � Education � Research � School � Sub-Saharan

Africa � Sustainability

1 Introduction

Meeting the fundamental human needs while preserving the life-support systems of the

planet Earth is the central concept of sustainability (Kates et al. 2001). According to the

World Bank, three quarters of the world’s poor live in the countryside (World Bank 2007);

thus, support to small farmers is at the heart of the fight against poverty and, consequently,

of sustainability. However, the question on the kind of support needed by farmers requires

the right answers for any such endeavour to be sustainable.

In principle, small farmers could be supported either by supplying to them the materials

they need for their activity (e.g. seeds, fertilizers, equipment) or by means of a cultural

transfer whereby some form of knowledge is transferred (e.g. a novel cultural technique is

F. Nazzi (&) � D. Annoscia � S. Del Fabbro � F. Del PiccoloDipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Universita degli Studi di Udine, Via delle Scienze 206,33100 Udine, Italye-mail: francesco.nazzi@uniud.it

123

Environ Dev SustainDOI 10.1007/s10668-013-9497-2

taught to farmers). The perishable nature of materials and the fact that ideas can be

transferred from one to another without being lost by the transferring subject, suggest that,

in general, cultural transfer can be regarded as the most sustainable kind of support one

could provide. Actually, the superiority of cultural transfer in comparison with material

transfer, as regards as sustainability, was noted back in ancient Chinese times, as for the

proverb: ‘‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed

him for a lifetime’’. Besides the fascinating metaphor, the question remains on how can this

cultural transfer be achieved or, following the Chinese proverb, what does ‘‘teaching a man

to fish’’ really mean?

Supporting small farmers could be achieved by two possible forms of cultural transfer.

On the one hand is the exportation of a model that is working in a given situation into a

new one (e.g. a cultural technique that has proved to be effective in the supporter’s country

is exported into the farmer’s country). On the other hand is the improvement of a local

model to make it work better in its native situation. On exporting an exogenous model into

a new situation, the following questions should be considered: Is the model really sus-

tainable where it was conceived? Will it be sustainable in the new situation? No general

answer can be given, but it should be noted that the very sustainability of modern agri-

culture, which can be regarded as the ‘‘mother’’ of any possible exogenous model to be

transferred to small farmers in developing countries, is currently debated given the very

high energy input required and the heavy impact on the environment (Pretty 2008).

Anyway, whatever the conclusion about the sustainability of a model in its original

location, its suitability when exported is questionable as well. In fact, a kind of ‘‘natural

selection’’ has normally been acting on local models for centuries, saving the alternatives

that are doing better under the local conditions and discarding the most inefficient ones.

Under this point of view, the improvement of local models seems to be, at least in

principle, a better solution.

To improve a local model, one should know both local models and the local situation

sensu lato. It is only after this knowledge has been achieved that the possible improve-

ments can be projected and realized. A thorough comprehension of a local situation can

only be obtained through an effective research. A frequent misunderstanding involving the

role of research in sustainability relates to the fact that researchers are considered suitable

for the job because of their expertise in some field of study. However, if an approach

aiming at improving local models is adopted, then it is the capacity of carrying out an

effective investigation that makes the researchers’ skill particularly useful. In this respect,

the most useful skills are probably the training to think, seek solutions and solve problems,

and the capacity to define and break them into solvable components that are the core of the

expertise of a well-trained researcher (Barker 2002). As a matter of fact, previous

knowledge on a specific topic could even be misleading if not supported by an open-

minded approach. In fact, the components that can influence the success of a project are

many and deeply interconnected; therefore, the widest point of view is advisable to assess

all possible independent variables and interplays. In other words, researchers should not

concentrate solely on the issue they are dealing with (e.g. an agricultural practice), but

should try to enquire all possible factors that are likely to have an influence (e.g. socio-

logical factors, historical heritage, gender issues, etc.). Furthermore, in most cases,

researchers aiming at improving a local model are not local their own, and this inevitably

implies communication problems between them and their interlocutors. Language is

actually the less important communication problem since, in many cases, there are cultures

that need to be connected that are based on anthropological systems that can be dramat-

ically different. Thus, cultural mediators, establishing a bridge between the researchers and

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the local situation, are essential if a real comprehension of the system under study has to be

achieved.

Another central question is how the support can be delivered to small farmers. If the

classic pyramidal representation of a society is adopted, we may think about two possible

alternative methods of delivery. On the one hand is the top-down approach where the input

is delivered to the apex of the pyramid from where it is supposed to flow down to the

bottom. In this case, the content of the project could be delivered to local authorities that

are involved in the distribution of it to end-users. In the bottom-up approach, the project

content is delivered directly at the base and no vertical down-hill transfer is needed. In this

case, a lot more energy may be needed to allow for the best distribution; however, a

notable feature of societies should be taken into account, that is the interconnectivity

allowing faster movements along the nodes of the social network (Christakis and Fowler

2011), notwithstanding the possible role of cultural pioneers that may represent a kind of

antennae receiving long-range messages to be distributed in the surrounding environment.

Furthermore, a bottom-up approach has already been shown to represent a sustainable

solution for the dispersion of good agricultural practices in small systems (Diamond 2006).

If cultural transfer is regarded as the most effective and sustainable support and a

bottom-up approach is adopted, then a transfer method based on training is a convenient

solution and the school probably represents the most appropriate environment for the

transfer to take place. In any case, if the final objective of the intervention is to help people

to help themselves, then an approach encouraging the active participation of the end-users

must be adopted. And, if the project is delivered through an education program, all the

methods that put the students at the very centre of the training activity should be

undertaken.

Apiculture can be regarded as an important livelihood activity for rural populations

worldwide for the following reasons (Winston 1991): there is no need to own land; in the

tropics, beekeeping can be started with bees incoming from the wild; beekeeping equip-

ment is simple and can be easily home-made with very little expenses; it is possible in

semi-arid areas; it is a typical part-time activity; honey is a very valuable food under the

nutritional point of view; other bee products can be used for self-medication (i.e. propolis)

and domestic illumination (i.e. beeswax); the commercial value of honey is generally high,

thus honey can be considered also a supplementary source of income; through pollination,

honeybees maintain biodiversity and increase the production of several agricultural crops;

indirectly, beekeeping incentivizes the conservation and restoration of natural vegetation.

These features are particularly important in areas where most people live under the poverty

level and the natural vegetation is degraded because of grazing and deforestation, and thus

beekeeping represents an important tool in the fight against poverty, gender equality and

habitat conservation (Raina et al. 2011).

However, in order to be really effective as an activity, for the benefit of potential

beekeepers and the environment, apiculture needs to be tailored upon the features of the

area where it is carried out. To do so, the necessary information has to be collected and

evaluated. Subsequently, an efficient method for transferring the knowledge to the possible

end-users has to be developed.

The objective of this work was to develop an effective training program aiming at

promoting, among school students, the apiculture as a tool for strengthening livelihoods in

a sustainable manner. To reach the objective, a framework to rationalize data collection

and evaluation was developed as well as a flexible training program incorporating such

information.

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2 Methodology

2.1 Context analysis

The project was carried out in the Kenyan central highlands with the students of two

secondary schools (St. Augustine, Sirima and St. Regina, Nairutia). An extensive survey

was carried out in the area, and many different aspects, ranging from geographical to social

features, were investigated. Interviews and literature searching were mostly used for

acquiring information about the social context. In all cases, cultural mediators were

exploited to facilitate efficient interactions with local people. Direct observation, sam-

plings, morphometric analysis (Nazzi 1992) and contacts with experts were used to get

information about landscape, vegetation, bees, pests and pathogens, and apiculture.

2.2 Selection of the model to be proposed during the training

The beekeeping methods exploited in the area were surveyed and evaluated; then, the

necessary improvements were developed and tested. The following criteria were used at

this stage:

1. Coherence with local bees’ biology and ethology;

2. Coherence with local beekeeping methods;

3. Low material input. All necessary equipment and materials should be feasible by the

trainees themselves with the lowest possible expense, in the shortest time.

2.3 Teaching program

2.3.1 General principles

The following general principles were adopted on developing the training program:

1. Balance (a combination of cultural concepts and technical skills should be delivered

during the training);

2. Self-sufficiency (the students should be able to make themselves, with simple,

inexpensive/recycled materials, all the equipment they needed to become beekeepers);

3. Participation (the students’ participation should be encouraged by any means; in

particular, in this case, a book about bees and beekeeping was realized by the students,

based on the training they received, using ‘‘collective writing’’: see below).

2.3.2 The making of the program

In order to plan the training, the following actions were undertaken:

1. Preliminary contacts with the schools involved in the project;

2. Launch of the project and creation of a ‘‘beekeepers club’’ in both schools;

3. Preliminary survey on the starting knowledge of the students;

4. Planning of the training activity, including the contents to be delivered to the students

and the methods to be used for the purpose, based on the evaluation of the information

collected along the context analysis.

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2.3.3 Structure of the training activity

The educational activity was carried out during the yearly visits of the researchers’ team to

the schools. In between successive visits, the students were asked to work on an assignment

under the supervision of their teachers. The training included teaching units and assign-

ments; each teaching unit included both theoretical and practical activities.

Theoretical teaching units dealt with bee biology, pollination and bee flora, basics of

beekeeping and products of the hive. The practical teaching units were about the self-

making of all the equipment that is necessary to start with apiculture (i.e. smoker, veil and

the hive). Other practical activities regarded the following subjects: how to visit a hive,

how to collect honey and wax, and how to make wax candles.

2.3.4 Collective writing

To facilitate the most extensive participation of the students to the training activity, the

idea of writing together a book about beekeeping, including the knowledge acquired during

the training, was launched at the beginning of the project.

The book included the plans describing how to make all the equipment with inexpensive

materials but also chapters about bee biology and basics of beekeeping. The latter parts

were written using a ‘‘collective writing’’ technique that basically includes the following

steps (School of Barbiana 1970):

1. Everyone writes the most important concepts about a certain subject on a little piece of

paper (one concept per note);

2. Notes are collected and revised, doubles are excluded and the remaining organized in

subgroups;

3. In a plenary session, all sentences dealing with the same subject are assembled in a

text;

4. The resulting text is revised.

2.3.5 Verification of the training program

The results of the teaching activity were assessed using a questionnaire delivered to the

students at the end of the training (Table 1). The questions were arranged into four sections

aiming at verifying the following: basic knowledge about bees; basic knowledge about

beekeeping; quality of the training; results of the training at the moment of the assessment

and plans for the future. The first sections were for assessing both theoretical and practical

knowledge, the third section was to get an idea of the students’ perception of the training

they received, and the last one was conceived to allow the researchers’ team to assess the

concrete changes induced by the project.

3 Results

3.1 The context

The area in which the project was carried out is about 2000 m asl, between the Aberdare

Mountain Range to the west and the Laikipia Plateau to the east, on a volcanic plateau with

predominantly clay soils. Rainfall is concentrated in two main periods coinciding with the

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monsoons and tends to decrease drastically between the mountains and the bottom of the

plateau, where prolonged periods of drought are reported. The temperature is moderate; it

can reach 21 �C between December and March and drop to 7 �C in July (Gianquinto et al.

2004). The area belongs to the Highland Savannah zone, with scattered trees and extensive

grass cover. Although vegetation is rather sparse and flowering is limited (apart from the

rainy seasons), a number of plants were observed which can provide either nectar or pollen

or both to honeybees.

The dominant community in the region is Kikuyu. In the area, the majority of people

depend on agriculture for livelihood; land is seen as a source of all wealth and the land’s

ownership determines the person’s status in the society regardless of its productivity. The

land inheritance system and consequent subdivision of properties have caused a drastic

reduction in the household’s land which, in most cases, is not sufficient to produce enough

food for a family. Local people have always regarded forests as their main source of fuel

and timber; this has led to the depletion of woodlands and reduction in trees in the

Savannah (Gianquinto et al. 2004).

3.2 Bees and beekeeping

Given the aim of the project (i.e. to develop and conduct a training program on beekeeping,

based on the information collected on site) and the kind of apiculture that was the object of

the training (i.e. self-sufficiency beekeeping, suitable for young students, rather than

industrial beekeeping that could be adopted by professionals), we restricted our attention to

data that were relevant for our project without embarking in extensive surveys that were

outside our scope. For this reason, quantitative data on behaviour, aggressiveness, pest and

pathogens, which would be useful for more advanced forms of beekeeping, were not

collected.

3.2.1 Systematics

According to the morphometric features, local bees belong to the subspecies Apis mellifera

scutellata (Table 2); in particular, the value of the cubital index is similar to the reference

value (2.52 ± 0.46), whereas angle J16 appears to be slightly higher (92.4 ± 4.19; Ruttner

1988). The bee space of local bees (i.e. the distance between adjacent combs, see note 1),

as measured in the field, is about 8 mm. This distance is consistent with a 32 mm top bar;

Table 1 Extract of the questionnaire delivered to the students at the end of the training

Section Sample questions

Basic knowledge about bees How many queen bees are there in a hive?What do bees collect from flowers, if anything?

Basic knowledge aboutbeekeeping

Which combs do you inspect first?When is honey in the comb ready for harvesting?

Quality of the training Imagine that you want to start beekeeping tomorrow. Do you think youknow everything you need?

Results of the training and plansfor the future

Did you have any beehive before attending the activities of theBeekeeping club?

Have you got any beehive now?If you answered ‘‘NO’’ to the previous two questions, how likely would

you start with beekeeping in the future?

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in fact, hives with such bars had one single comb per bar, whereas, in all other cases, this

does not normally happen.

3.2.2 Behaviour

Aggressiveness is high compared to reference domesticated bee races (e.g. A. m. ligustica)

so that high numbers of bees leave the hive to sting after disturbance, following the victim

for a long distance and remaining in an excited state as long as 1 h; guard bees from nearby

colonies tend to join those of the disturbed hive; at night, the effect is reduced.

Swarming occurs frequently during rainy seasons so that apiculture can be easily started

from wild swarms occupying empty hives or catcher boxes placed in a convenient site.

3.2.3 Pests and pathogens

Despite the limited extent of our survey, many of the pests normally found on local bees

(Ritter and Akratanakul 2006; Torto et al. 2010; Strauss et al. 2013) were detected;

however, in general, given the strong swarming tendency of local bees as well as

absconding, no visible health problems were noted. Among the pests found during the

inspections, the wax moth was detected in abandoned hives, whereas both Braula coeca

and Varroa destructor were observed in apparently healthy colonies. In September 2009,

the Varroa mite was found in sealed worker brood cells in a top bar hive in Sirima

(0�0305700S; 36�4706000E); the same year, the mite was reported for the first time in East

Africa (Frazier et al. 2010). A beetle identified as Aethina sp. was found in the same apiary

in Sirima in July 2012. All colonies were more or less affected by widespread unidentified

ants.

Table 2 Morphometric characters of local bees

Character Colony 1

(n = 10)

Colony 2

(n = 13)

Colony 3

(n = 11)

Colony 4

(n = 12)

Colony 5

(n = 8)

Average

local bees

a 0.52 ± 0.02 0.51 ± 0.05 0.52 ± 0.05 0.49 ± 0.04 0.51 ± 0.05 0.51 ± 0.01

b 0.21 ± 0.01 0.23 ± 0.02 0.23 ± 0.02 0.21 ± 0.02 0.23 ± 0.02 0.22 ± 0.01

A 0.80 ± 0.01 0.80 ± 0.02 0.83 ± 0.02 0.80 ± 0.02 0.81 ± 0.03 0.81 ± 0.01

B 1.80 ± 0.05 1.82 ± 0.04 1.85 ± 0.06 1.81 ± 0.05 1.80 ± 0.05 1.82 ± 0.02

Cubital index 2.48 ± 0.22 2.20 ± 0.31 2.33 ± 0.44 2.40 ± 0.31 2.19 ± 0.37 2.32 ± 0.13

A4 33.16 ± 2.13 33.04 ± 1.38 33.93 ± 3.49 33.45 ± 1.12 33.01 ± 1.84 33.32 ± 0.38

B4 101.50 ± 4.57 99.93 ± 4.06 100.32 ± 5.39 103.73 ± 4.97 102.74 ± 3.59 101.64 ± 1.60

D7 99.98 ± 1.64 97.61 ± 3.54 99.72 ± 3.51 97.97 ± 3.63 98.58 ± 5.25 98.77 ± 1.05

E9 19.28 ± 0.94 17.99 ± 1.34 20.26 ± 1.08 19.22 ± 1.26 19.49 ± 1.30 19.25 ± 0.82

G18 98.54 ± 3.89 96.92 ± 3.90 94.71 ± 1.97 94.51 ± 3.08 94.66 ± 2.61 95.87 ± 1.80

J10 50.93 ± 3.72 53.87 ± 3.62 48.42 ± 3.01 48.71 ± 2.95 52.09 ± 2.33 50.80 ± 2.30

J16 92.72 ± 3.47 96.86 ± 4.27 94.32 ± 3.85 97.72 ± 3.60 96.08 ± 3.47 95.54 ± 2.01

K19 77.71 ± 2.19 79.92 ± 2.14 77.51 ± 2.10 81.65 ± 2.51 79.08 ± 1.35 79.17 ± 1.70

L13 14.32 ± 1.25 15.07 ± 1.55 13.75 ± 1.41 13.94 ± 0.80 15.40 ± 1.20 14.50 ± 0.71

N23 87.72 ± 2.50 92.47 ± 3.31 89.52 ± 2.77 90.36 ± 2.88 90.97 ± 2.69 90.21 ± 1.76

O26 39.69 ± 3.40 40.59 ± 4.38 39.48 ± 3.13 41.63 ± 4.71 37.07 ± 3.18 39.69 ± 1.69

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3.2.4 Apiculture

Several forms of apiculture are carried out in the area. Apart from simple robbing of honey

from feral colonies (Fig. 1a), log hives are common (Fig. 1b) as well as top bar hives

(Fig. 1c); industrial beekeeping, using Langstroth hives, is limited to a few big farms

(Fig. 1d).

Moveable comb hives are used in many cases; however, very little attention is paid to

the bee space so that top bars of variable width are found in the hives (Fig. 2a) and very

irregular combs are built that can hardly be inspected or replaced without disturbing the

colony (Fig. 2b).

Personal protection is rather scarce, normally consisting of a simple hood and a heavy

jacket; this imposes the use of a lot of smoke, resulting in frequent absconding of bees and

honey with a characteristic smoky flavour.

Fig. 1 Beekeeping methods observed in the area where the project was carried out. A hole in a cedar whichhosted a wild swarm was enlarged to collect the honey combs after forcing the bees away; some remains ofthe combs can be seen at the base of the tree (a). Log hives hanging from sparse trees are very common inthe Savannah (b). Kenyan top bar hives with moveable combs are used by more experienced beekeepers (c).Apiaries equipped with Langstroth hives are sometimes present in the bigger farms (d)

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3.3 The model delivered through the training program

After careful evaluation of the local methods and testing several practical solutions to the

problems assessed during the survey, the following form of beekeeping was selected for

being delivered through the training program:

1. Bees: local, from wild swarms incoming during the rainy season.

2. Hive: Tanzanian top bar hives with 32-mm-large top bars to account for the bee space

of the local race. The Tanzanian top bar hive was used due to the easier construction in

comparison with Kenyan hive, thanks to the square angles between flanks and floor

(Fig. 3). Grease should be used to prevent ants from invading the hive; apiaries should

be located near a source of water, distant enough from houses and livestock.

3. Personal protection: this is essential in view of the aggressiveness of local bees and can

be achieved with a strong veil, gloves and a thick jacket, trousers and gum boots. Note

that inspecting the hives at night may help to reduce the risk of accidents.

4. Honey harvesting: this is carried out at any time between the rainy seasons; honey

collection can be achieved by squeezing honeycombs with a nylon net such as those

used for untreated mosquito nets.

3.4 The training

Four teaching units, including both theoretical and practical aspects, were delivered to 28

and 38 students, belonging to the two secondary schools involved in the project (Table 3).

The questionnaires delivered at the end of the training to the students who attended to

the whole 4-year program (n = 37), revealed the following effects of the activity carried

out during the project. Nearly, all the interviewed students (94 %) had started their own

beekeeping activity by the end of the training and felt qualified enough for this (89 %); in

fact, their knowledge about the basics of beekeeping could be considered as satisfactory

Fig. 2 Top bars with variable width are used in the area (a); this results in very irregular combs which makecombs hardly removable without disturbing the bees (b)

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(on average, 79 % of the students answered correctly to the questions regarding this

subject). The students’ perception about the training was satisfactory, in which 91 % of

students considered the training either positive or very positive and declared that both the

balance between theory and practice and the duration of the training were adequate (86 %).

A book entitled ‘‘Starting with bees’’ (Various Authors 2012; Fig. 4) with chapters

about bee biology and beekeeping, the project plans for hand-making all the necessary

equipment, several figures and the list of local melliferous and polliniferous plants, written

together with the students (see above) was delivered to all the participants at the end of the

project as a manual for future reference.

The plans are the result of an accurate design and allow all the necessary equipment to be

realized in a few working hours (i.e. 4–5 h) and with a limited expense (i.e. about 20 US dollars).

Thanks to the writing method, the style is plain and concise so that the book can be

regarded as a clear and understandable introduction to bees, making and using equipment,

harvesting honey and beeswax, and information about local plants of beekeeping interest.

4 Discussion

The implementation of beekeeping in rural development has received increasing attention

in recent years, and many projects have been carried out in different areas of the world

(Bradbear et al. 2002).

However, the project described here presented some significant original features.

(a) Sustainability The project was designed to pursue sustainability at different levels

including the subject (beekeeping is one of the few agricultural activities that can

Fig. 3 A Tanzanian top bar hivebuilt by the students attending thetraining, following the plandeveloped along the project

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improve, through pollination, the natural resources of the area where it is carried out),

and the approach (the focus was on cultural transfer rather than material transfer).

Furthermore, self-sufficiency was used as a reference for checking the suitability of

the materials and methods that were presented.

(b) Research and education The project aimed to conjugate research and education in

order to optimize both the development of an effective training program that is

tailored upon the local situation and the transfer to the end-users.

(c) Cultural mediators To facilitate the communication between the researchers’ team

and local people, cultural mediators were exploited.

(d) Beneficiaries Most projects developed so far for promoting beekeeping in rural areas

targeted either adult men already involved in beekeeping or women groups (Bradbear

et al. 2002). In this case, secondary school students were involved since they

represent an ideal target for such programs: indeed they are more receptive to novel

ideas and ready to get the most out of a training activity.

(e) Output A limited number of students were involved in the project, but a kind of a

‘‘contagious transfer’’ took place in the area where the project was carried out. In fact,

other people, hearing about the project, became interested and asked for information

and support. Therefore, the overall results of the project can hardly be assessed both

under the point of view of the livelihoods of people involved and the conditions of the

surrounding environment.

5 Conclusions

The idea that an intimate connection between research and education could be of great

benefit for an academic institution has proved to be very fruitful for the progress of modern

Table 3 Structure of the training program

Year Title Theoreticalactivities

Practical activities Assignment

1 The honeybee 1. Honeybee anatomy andphysiology

2. The life cycle of the beecolony

3. Bees and plants

Observation ofhoneybees usingmagnificationlens

Make a herbarium with themelliferous andpolliniferous plants ofthe area

2 Thebeekeeper’sequipment

Basics of beekeeping: how todeal with honeybees

1. How to makethe smoker

2. How to makethe veil

Make the veil and thesmoker for everymember of the club

3 The hive Basics of beekeeping: bee-killing versus beekeeping,fixed versus movable combhives

1. How to make atop bar hive

2. How to visit thehive

Make a hive and place it ina convenient place

4 The honeyand the wax

1. Basics of beekeeping: honeyproduction

2. The products of bees

1. How to collectand extract thehoney

2. How to separatethe wax

3. How to make awax candle

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Fig. 4 The book written with the students at the end of the program (a) summarizes the most relevantbiological information about bees and beekeeping (b), includes the plans for self-making of all the necessaryequipment (c) and instructions for processing the hive products (d)

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universities. We believe that the application of the same binomial in the field of sustain-

ability may allow substantial developments once its full potential is eventually unravelled.

This paper aimed at disclosing some of this potential.

In particular, we showed that development-oriented activities aiming at improving the

livelihood of rural communities should consider targeting young students who may be

more receptive to new ideas. An effective research activity may allow an efficient selection

of the ideas to be transferred and the methods for doing so.

Using a research and education approach, in which beekeeping was introduced into the

curriculum of two secondary schools, we tested the potential of cultural knowledge transfer

as a means of promoting beekeeping and showed that, with the right educational programs

tailored to the audience needs, knowledge transfer and self-start-ups ensure better sus-

tainability than material support.

Note 1. The bee space

The honeybee nest is made of vertical wax combs; the distance between combs is a

distinctive feature of each Apis mellifera race and is called ‘‘bee space’’. The traditional

hive used in most of Africa is the log hive that is an excavated log hanging on a tree where

incoming swarms build their combs (Fig. 1b). To harvest the honey, the beekeeper forces

the bees out of the hive and cuts off the honey combs. Unfortunately, disturbed bees often

abandon the hive that is anyway severely damaged.

A proper apiculture, that allows an easy collection of the honey while preserving the

bees, is based on movable frame hives. In this case, bees are provided a container with

movable bars on which wax combs are built; this makes the manipulation of wax combs

very easy. Of course, the distance between the bars must fit the bee space, otherwise honey

combs can not be removed without disturbing the colony, incurring in the problems

described above. This is actually what happens when hives are made keeping not into

account basic biological data. The exploratory survey carried out at the beginning of the

project allowed us to measure the bee space of the local bees so as the hives that were built

with the school students were the most suitable for local bees, allowing a fast and safe

honey collection.

Acknowledgments We gratefully acknowledge Father Elvino Ortolan (Sirima) and Father Romano Filippi(Nairutia) for their invaluable role as cultural mediators and for providing the warmest hospitality andsupport, Mario Salvalaggio for accompanying us throughout the project, the Banca di Credito CooperativoPordenonese and Banca di Credito Cooperativo di San Giorgio e Meduno for financial support as well as theConsorzio degli Apicoltori of Gorizia, Pordenone and Udine, for providing some beekeeping equipment.

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