While education is the cornerstone of our mission, we’ve always believed that the transition from poverty to abundance requires wholistic investment in the community at large.  Currently, jobs for the men and women of Gatagara are both scarce and low-paying.  Most families rely on subsistence farming simply to get by.  Our efforts to educate the children are a worthy investment in the future of this region, but we also want to concurrently equip their parents to be more financially secure.

Towards this end, we are creating a new business opportunity in Gatagara that is focused on honey production.  Why honey?

• High Demand:  The demand for honey in Rwanda is about four times higher than the current production rate.
• Significant Profit:  With a minimal start up cost, a single hive will produce about $160 worth of honey per year.  Since the average person in Gatagara earns about $2.00/day, this means that each hive will produce income that is equivalent to 80 days of full time work.
• Passive Income:  Very importantly, tending to beehives is not a full-time endeavor…it only requires a few hours per week.  This means people can keep their regular jobs and take on beekeeping as their “side hustle”.
• Natural Resources:  We’ve been told by our local expert that the region of Gatagara contains enough flowering plants and standing water to support this endeavor.

The business model is simple.  After we train them in bee husbandry, local families will be able to rent hives from us for a very modest monthly fee.  They will house the hives on their property and will be responsible for maintaining them over a six month period.  At harvest time, we will visit each family and collect the honey from their hives using a portable centrifuge.  Their honey will be weighed on the spot, and we will pay the family accordingly.  City of Joy will then be responsible for packaging the honey and selling it in local markets.

To be clear, although this endeavor may end up being a modest source of revenue for City of Joy, the primary goal is to get money flowing into the pockets of local families.  Building skill and confidence in basic business practices, and instilling an entrepreneurial mindset are our other goals for this program. Any excess revenue will be reinvested in additional vocational programs. 

As a first step, over the next month we will be purchasing hives to house on the City of Joy property, and will have a local expert train five of our staff.  With the expertise that our internal team builds over the next seven months, we aim to launch this program with local families in January 2022. 

Join us in stimulating the local economy.

• Give $15 to sponsor a day of beekeeper training for the team.
• Give $18 to sponsor a queen and her colony.
• Give $60 to build a hive.
• Give $126 to equip a new beekeeper with tools and protective gear.
• Give $5000 to sponsor the entire project!

In a community where many families struggle for even one meal per day, a simple beehive can be transformative. Give today!