Business skills, tools and training for blind beekeepers

VISION

The Grahamstown Area Distress Relief Association (GADRA) works towards the eradication of poverty through the development of sustainable projects that provide dignity and independence to their beneficiaries.

OVERVIEW

This is Phase Two of a project that provides training and equipment so that a group of six blind people can become income-generating beekeepers. The beneficiaries have been involved in GADRA's well-established community programme, which includes capacity-building interventions such as independent living courses, leadership programmes and Braille reading; as well as physical activities such as gym and bowls. The involvement of the beneficiaries in this income-generating project is a new venture to provide livelihood opportunities for blind people. GADRA has established a public-private partnership with a local business, Makana Meadery, which provides the beekeeping training, as well as a market for the honey. The emerging GADRA beekeepers have already successfully undertaken the preliminary beekeeping course. All members of the group are heads of households that rely on their disability grants as their only source of income.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• The project will provide new vocational skills and income-generation opportunities for visually-disabled people.
• Phase Two of this project is designed to develop the capacity and skills of the beekeepers and once that has been achieved, GADRA plans to expand the project.
• Two of the beneficiaries are Braille trainers and they are working with the Makana Meadery beekeeping trainer to establish a course to teach blind people how to keep bees. The GADRA project will then be used as the site and resource to involve more visually-impaired participants in the endeavour.
• GADRA has strong relationships with blind associations nationwide and they intend to share their expertise and model with other projects in order to increase blind people's vocational and income-generating opportunities in South Africa.
• GADRA's established public-private partnership with Makana Meadery provides the beekeepers with a developed market for their honey.

EXPECTED LIFE CHANGE

An investment of R36 450 enables GADRA to implement the second phase of the beekeeping project that involves six visually-impaired, unemployed beneficiaries. The two women and four men involved in the project are all heads of households that depend on their disability grants for income.

• Six visually-impaired adults will gain new business skills and advanced beekeeping skills, which will build the capacity of the income-generating project and contribute positively towards the beekeepers' independence and self-esteem.
• The six beneficiaries and their 16 dependents will benefit from additional income.
• GADRA's services for blind people will be expanded into income generation. The organisation will also benefit from having a new revenue stream that will contribute towards their sustainability.
• Direct life change at a cost of R1 656.82 per life.

This project has breadth, depth, intensity and permanence in that it has the potential to impact positively on the vocational, economic, psychological and social aspects of the beneficiaries' lives.

NEED

Less than 3% of blind people are employed in South Africa. People are born blind or become blind due to violence, ill health or old age. In the Eastern Cape, there are an estimated 107 000 blind people. They qualify for a disability grant of approximately R820 per month, and in many cases this may be the only source of income in their households. Lack of opportunities to learn skills and lack of resources to start businesses result in dependency, low incomes, poor self-esteem and social isolation.

STRATEGY

GADRA has a well-established programme to assist blind people in independent living. This includes Braille reading, leadership courses and social and sporting activities. Recently, they launched vocational skills training with the aim of establishing income-generating projects that will substantially improve the lives of their beneficiaries. There is already a sewing project for the blind – the beekeeping project is the second initiative of this kind.

Public-private partnership for training and market: GADRA has established a public-private partnership with local business Makana Meadery, which will provide the beekeeping training. They will work with the GADRA beneficiaries to determine a beekeeping course for blind people, that can be used as a model for transferring new vocational skills to blind people in South Africa. The GADRA group of beekeepers will also supply their honey to Makana Meadery, giving them access to a developed market.

Entrepreneurship training: The GADRA beekeepers will attend the four-week Basic Business Skills course offered by Umthathi Training. This well-established course was devised with full cognisance of the unit standards and is pitched below Grade 9 level, enabling semi-literate and illiterate people to learn how to start and run a business through simulation and experiential learning. The course will cover basic business practice, simulation of a marketplace, how to market and how to keep records. Umthathi will provide a follow-up week of on-site evaluation, support and refinement.

ACTION PLAN

Preparation

Additional tools will be purchased and the dates set for beekeeping and business skills training.

Implementation

The GADRA beekeepers will undertake the third part of their beekeeping training course with Makana Meadery, as well as the four-week Basic Business Skills training with Umthathi.

Monitoring

The project will be monitored by the manager of GADRA and the director of Makana Meadery. GADRA will provide the necessary financial and administrative services.

RISK PROFILE

Key Strengths

• Concept: Building the capacity of the emerging beekeepers, with regard both to their beekeeping skills and their understanding of participating in a business, will strengthen the project and improve its chances of success. The Umthathi training is based on simulation and discovery learning methodology that has been used effectively for more than 10 years to transfer basic business skills.
• Design: The project is well-supported by the intentions and infrastructure of GADRA, Makana Meadery and Umthathi Training.
• Capability: GADRA has strong, committed leadership with sufficient depth to execute this project. Makana Meadery has experienced, expert directors. Two of the beneficiaries are Braille trainers, who have the proven ability to act as leaders in the blind group.
• Control: GADRA has all the normal governance, administrative systems and financial controls in place that are expected of a long-established, accountable non-profit organisation.
• Sustainability: The beneficiaries will receive the life skill of beekeeping, so the lasting impact of the project on the beneficiaries' lives is potentially significant.

Key Risks

• Concept: Although the training course is a good one, it does not automatically translate into participants being able to establish income-generating activities, as some may be less entrepreneurial than others.
• Capability: There is an inherent risk of leading people resigning and leaving the project.
• Sustainability: The long-term sustainability of the GADRA beekeeping project is dependent on people being interested in beekeeping on an ongoing basis.
• External: The project as a whole is subject to unpredictable factors that affect most agribusinesses. Drought could adversely affect the production of honey. There is a very low risk that the hives wouldn't be inhabited by bees. There is a low risk of theft as hives are a popular target, but the container would be well-secured on the GADRA premises.