Women's Empowerment through Honey

Bee Farming, 2007

Commitment By

Hashoo Foundation

Objective

To empower women in Northern Pakistan by expanding employment opportunities and

generating a stable source of income.

Commitment Details

 Estimated Total Value $249,081

 Fundraising $52,892
 Anticipated Launch December 1, 2007
 Commitment Duration 2 years
 Geographic Region Asia
 Geographic Scope Pakistan

The Hashoo Foundation strives to reduce poverty, with a strong focus on marginalized
communities, by creating an environment in which sustainable and dignified livelihoods
is attainable to the largest population. The Women Empowerment through Honey Bee
Farming project will address the discrepancy between male and female beekeepers in the
NAC by educating and supporting women beekeepers. This project will help give voice
to marginalized women by enabling them to provide for themselves and their dependants
through beekeeping.

Hashoo Foundation has already engaged in creating partnerships with stakeholders within
Pakistan. A CGI commitment to action will enable the Hashoo Foundation to reach out to
potential partners beyond Pakistan and join efforts in the global fight against poverty.
(less)

Progress Updates

1. PROGRESS UPDATE: September 18, 2008

Implementation Period: December 1, 2007 - December 1, 2009

The Hashoo Foundation has mobilized a local organization of producers in Pakistan

(Northern Areas Honey Bee Keepers Welfare Association - NAHBKWA) to expand
 the training base and increase the production of honey. Most of the female producers
have gained access to employment through this program. Due to the mobilization
activities carried out by the Hashoo Foundation, the type of work and lifestyle of the
beneficiaries have changed: women shifted from traditional house chores to being
involved in many technical aspects of honeybee farming (extraction, harvesting, etc.).

Women are also involved in the production of bee wax and pollen as a by-product,
though marginally. Their production is sold both in and outside local markets. The
Hashoo Foundation's strategy is to consolidate the five-star hotels' market before
expanding to regular customers. Additionally, steps have been taken to obtain a fair
trade certificate for the honey sold under this project. In the same drive for quality, the
Hashoo Foundation is working toward obtaining internationally recognized organic
certification for the honey.

Milestones:

- As a result of NAHBKWA's mobilization, 30 women were trained and 20 more

women were engaged in the production of honey.
- Ninety producers and 600 dependents are benefiting from honey project and 60% of
the honey producers associated in NAHBKWA are women.
- The standards of production have improved dramatically: honeybee farmers adapted
from producing for a local market to producing for 5-star hotels customers.

Time Line
Anticipated Launch:
December 2007
First Milestone(s):
Component 1: Women enabled to access gainful employment.
Component 2: Advanced female beekeepers increase their average productivity
engage in the production of by-product.
Component 3: NAC beekeepers organize a production unit following international
standards to be operational at the latest by April 2009
Component 4: NAC producers secure a more diversified client database for all bee
products.
Component 5: Beekeepers strengthen the sector by generating support services.

2. SUMMARY OF ACTIVITY:

Hashoo Foundation has been actively involved in the region responding to the array of
needs of the less privileged of the Northern areas of Pakistan through:

1. Women Empowerment Center (WEC) - Women Empowerment Centre was

established in 2005 with an aim to facilitate the most talented/deserving female
students of remotest villages of the Northern Areas by providing safe residential
 facility and activities for their holistic development. Considering the high and
pressing demand of the parents and communities, the capacity of WEC has been
increased from 60 to 110 students with in two and half years.

2. Child Education Support Program (CESP) - CESP is Hashoo Foundation’s

contribution to realizing the Millennium Development Goal aiming at achieving
universal primary education by 2015. In 2004, CESP was initiated as a pilot
project for 154 children in the Northern Areas. CESP provides financial support to
out-of-school children and pays for their tuition fees and provides them with
books, shoes, stationery and uniforms. In 2006, CESP was extended to Chitral.
Hashoo Foundation has extended the program to an additional 638 children.

3. Skill Development Program - The program was started for the boarders (WEC)
of the remotest villages of the Northern Areas of Pakistan where the facility of
computer training, English language and other life skill training is not available.
Boarders were facing problems in understanding lectures and preparing
presentations for their colleges and universities due to lack of computer and
communication skills. Computer training and English language training program
was also extended to the staff of the Karakrum International University and to
others females in Gilgit.

4. Institutional Capacity Building - This program supports and strengthens

community based self help institutions in terms of financial aid.

5. Scholarship Program - Scholarships are awarded to the talented and most

deserving students studying in the best educational institutions in the Northern
Areas. 8 out of 45 scholars got top positions in the board examinations and one of
them got presidential award from the President of Pakistan for scoring top position
in board examination of twelve grade.

Implementation Strategy

The Hashoo Foundation Commitment has scaled up based on the achievements of

the activities implemented in 2008.

The implementation strategy for 2008-09 includes:

1. Empowerment and mobility of women - This commitment will mobilize women from
the ‘apron to the apiary’ and into an economic environment and business setting
bringing about a tremendous social change in the region in a country like Pakistan
where women are confined to private spaces.

2. Sustainability - Hashoo Foundation will enhance the value of the commitment by

 Providing proper management to the current bee keepers
  Expanding the number of future bee keepers in order to secure a steady supply of
honey
 Developing a sustainable supply chain
 Promoting a high quality branded product
 Designing new packaging and labeling
 Increasing new distribution channels for honey throughout the country by adding
new sales outlets, supper store and bakeries
 Introducing similar type of income generating projects for women (e.g. jam
production)
 Assisting the bee keepers in promoting their honey through Hashoo Foundation
links in the United States and Europe

3. Develop a market for selling the honey - The Hashoo Foundation’s main partner, the
Hashoo Group of Hotels (Marriott and Pearl Continental chain), is instrumental in
developing an immediate market for the honey. Hashoo Group of Hotels will
continue to purchase the honey for their internal consumption on the following
grounds:
 The quality of honey is far superior than the one they were previously
purchasing
 The hotels are paying 69% more to purchase this honey as their participation
in the overall economic up-lifting of rural farmers and their families part of
their corporate social responsibility
 The hotels will continue to give HF shelf space at its bakeries to sell the honey
o The benefit of the sale goes directly to HF Programs

The Northern Areas and Chitral (NAC) are amongst the poorest and most isolated regions
in Pakistan. Due to severe weather conditions in winter, access to the region can prove
very difficult for up to six months a year. The consequences are a limited access to
education, health facilities, and a lack of gainful employment opportunities.

The economy of these areas is mainly based on subsistence agriculture organized at the
village level. However, even subsistence farming is difficult because cultivable lands are
scattered, landholding is limited and markets are distant. Unemployment in these areas is
very high and enterprise culture is hindered by the lack of storage facilities and other
marketing services which force farmers to sell their production at once or let the produce
go to waste.

A study supervised by Hashoo Foundation found large discrepancies between women

representation in the beekeeping sector of the NAC and the income they generate when
compared to their male counterparts. Women account for 55 percent of honeybee
producers in the NAC. Their average productivity (17,91 kg/year/hive) is slightly higher
than the global average (16,25 kg/year/hive). However, they only account for 35 percent
of the total income generated by honeybee production in the NAC. This discrepancy
could arise from the fact that 68.2 percent of women beekeepers in the NAC own less
than five hives, which is the critical point at which keeping bees become profitable.
In the neighboring district of Gilgit, and surrounding areas, 87 percent of the total honey
production is purchased on the local market. Lack of storage facilities, processing
equipments, market information, and poor access prevent beekeepers from reaching
potentially more profitable down-country markets. Beekeepers are also not aware of the
income supplement they could generate through the exploitation of the four major honey
by-products: beeswax, pollen, royal jelly, and propolis.

Hashoo Foundation's project will focus on successfully creating such linkages with
markets. By addressing local women issues, beekeepers or newcomers, providing inputs
and trainings, and focusing on the production of by-products, the Honeybee Project will
allow these women to increase their income and to become more integrated in decision-
making process within their community.

By the end of 2009:

 125 Women will be trained

 215 Households will be supported
 215 Women will be producing honey
 215 Women producers will be linked with the market

Performance Metrics

Performance metric Performance target

Distribution network established in four cities January 2009
1 Honey Association formed in Chitral April 2009
125 More women trained May 2009
Honey production increased by 30% June 2009
15 metric tons of honey sold June 2009
215 Households benefited from the project July 2009

Partnership Opportunities

To achieve this project, we are seeking financial assistance or in kind support including:

1. Equipment S # Items Name Quantity Unit cost US$ Total cost US$ 1 Boxes with
Bees 100 90 9000 2 Stainless steel smokers 20 27.5 550 3 Comb cutter 20 9.50 190 4
Bee Brush 20 3.95 79 5 Hand Crank Extractor 10 349.95 3499.5 6 Filter Baskets (360
bottling Tank) 10 79.95 799.5 7 Stainless steel Storage Tank 05 179.95 899.75 8 Deluxe
Solar Wax Melter 05 399.95 1999.75 9 Wax Pans 10 9.95 99.5
2. Human Resources • Experts in international marketing to export our honey to EU and
US markets • Experts in fair trade certification to facilitate the certification process •
Experts in organic certification to facilitate a certification process respecting international
standards • Expertise in the use of bee by- products • Marketing expertise in international
markets of honey and bee by-products • Extracting machines, smokers, veils etc •
Financial assistant to provide honey production trainings • Bee Hives

Point of Contact

Cristal Montanez Baylor, Executive Director, Hashoo Foundation USA, Houston, Texas
Imam Yar Baig, Chief Executive Officer, Hashoo Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan