PROJECT TOGO PLUS · FOREST PROTECTION & BIODIVERSITY

A natural forest does not survive on its own.

PROJECT TOGO's beekeeping combines training, regional craftsmanship and the conservation of habitats for bees.

Discuss support

NATURAL FOREST · PROJECT TOGO, TOGO

01 · WHAT IT'S ABOUT

The natural forest is the ecological centre of PROJECT TOGO.

Honey is widely used in Togo. PROJECT TOGO has therefore investigated how beekeeping works under local conditions and how this could create an additional source of income for the villages.

A local carpenter made the first beehives. The project began in the natural forest with about 50 hives. The initial experiences were encouraging, allowing the beekeeping operation to be gradually expanded.

The focus is not solely on the number of hives. It is about a craft that can be understood locally, practised independently, and developed economically.

around 50

BEEHIVES TO START

regional

HANDCRAFTED HIVES

step-by-step

APIARY EXPANDED

on site

LEARN, WORK, DEVELOP

* according to previous project specifications

02 · TRAINING BEFORE EXPANSION

Passing on knowledge

Knowledge must remain local.

For the training, PROJECT TOGO recruited an experienced beekeeper as a teacher. Interested individuals from the villages underwent an extensive programme that lasted approximately one year. It combined theoretical instruction with practical work with the bee colonies and concluded with a theoretical and a practical exam.

Upon successful completion, the new beekeepers received basic equipment so they could start with their own beehives.

The idea behind it is a growing, self-sustaining system: from the initial honey revenues, the beekeepers can finance additional hives, materials, and protective clothing, and further develop their business under their own steam.

Experts inspect a locally manufactured beehive in PROJECT TOGO.

LOCAL HIVE MANUFACTURING

03 · BEES AND FOREST

Bees need food. And an intact habitat.

The beehives were distributed in suitable locations within the natural forest and on areas around the villages. In addition, PROJECT TOGO ensures that plants that provide food for the bees for as long as possible are preserved or newly introduced in their surroundings.

Beekeeping thus combines economic use with a tangible incentive to protect flowering plants and the surrounding forest.

African wild bees can defend their colonies very decisively. Their presence therefore also makes unauthorised access to certain areas of the forest more difficult. This side effect supports forest conservation, but does not replace fire watchmen or the agreed protection and control structures.

Practical work on a beehive in PROJECT TOGO.

04 · SHARED TECHNOLOGY. INDEPENDENT WORK.

Expensive equipment does not have to be owned by everyone individually.

For processing, honey extractors were purchased in Togo or manufactured locally. The shared equipment is available to the trained beekeepers, so that each individual does not have to purchase expensive processing technology.

The self-employed beekeepers look after their own beehives, harvest and extract the honey, and sell it in their preferred markets. Revenue and quantities are recorded. 80 per cent of the proceeds remain with the respective beekeeper. 20 per cent goes into the village coffers because the beehives are located in the forests and areas around the village. In this way, the village community benefits alongside the beekeeper.

05 · THE NGO ecoCent TOGO ALSO KEEPS BEES

Teach, show, continue working.

Furthermore, the NGO ecoCent Togo owns its own beehives. One part is used for training and demonstration, while another part generates income for the association.

These funds can be used to stabilise and expand the beekeeping business or for further tasks within PROJECT TOGO.

The beekeepers market their honey independently. The NGO ecoCent Togo sells its quantities on regional markets as well as to wholesalers, restaurants, and hotels, depending on availability. Currently, a more detailed analysis is being conducted to identify which sales channels are suitable for larger and regularly available quantities.

BEEKEEPING · PROJECT TOGO

06 · NEXT DEVELOPMENT STEPS

A beekeeping business doesn't grow with new hives alone.

As the project grows, processing, storage, consistent quality, clean bottling, packaging and transport gain in importance. Therefore, beekeeping should not only be expanded through the number of new hives. Equally important are the qualification of additional beekeepers, the maintenance of existing colonies and the establishment of reliable sales structures.

07 · POSSIBLE SUPPORT

What customer engagement can enable

The specific needs will be coordinated together with the NGO ecoCent Togo and the participating village communities.

Production of new beehives by regional craftsmen

Training of further beekeepers in theory and practice

Starter kits, protective clothing and tools for successful graduates

Honey extractors, as well as equipment for processing, storage and bottling

Preservation and addition of suitable flowering plants around the sites as well as product quality, packaging, labelling, transport and market analysis

Establishment of new beekeeping groups in further villages, as well as maintenance, replacement materials, and further development of the association's own educational colonies

A customer engagement can fund a complete training group, a set number of new beehives, or the expansion of processing and marketing. Multi-year support is particularly effective because bee colonies, experience, and sales channels do not develop stably within a single honey season.

08 · REPORTING

What we report on

Reporting is based on the respective stage of development. It distinguishes clearly between what has been implemented, ongoing findings, and the next planned steps.

Active bee colonies and newly built hives

Trained beekeepers

Harvest volumes, processing and sales revenues

Distribution to beekeepers and village funds

Revenues of the NGO ecoCent Togo

Losses, replacements and newly developed sales channels

Beehives are loaded together for transport.

09 · CLEARLY CATEGORISED

Support that remains clearly assigned.

A commitment to local beekeeping is voluntary and dedicated to a specific purpose. It supports a concrete project area of PROJECT TOGO in Togo.

It takes place outside of one's own value chain and is documented separately from CO₂e balances. The contribution is not offset against a Product or Corporate Carbon Footprint and does not alter any calculated emissions.

Companies support the establishment and further development of local beekeeping. What has been implemented and how training, bee colonies and marketing are developing is documented in a transparent and traceable manner.

PROJECT TOGO PLUS · BEEKEEPING

Interested in beekeeping?

We explain which developmental step is currently being prepared, how support can be deployed, and what will subsequently be reported.

Let's talk