African Bronze Honey Project

From the African Bronze Honey Project website:

Almost 20 years ago, Zambian Canadian eco-entrepreneur, Dan Ball went into a rural area of Zambia to help two dozen struggling beekeepers sell their honey. He said, “I can help you, let’s start a business.” Today Dan has trained over 6000 beekeepers and exports 800 tonnes of honey every year to Europe.

But Dan had a problem; with a growing list of 3000 people waiting to be trained and equipped as beekeepers, he needed to generate more income. So he turned to long-time friends, Canadian artist-entrepreneurs and former Zimbabwean residents, Paul Whitney and Liz Connell. He asked them to help him bring the honey to Canada and the US.

With virtually no retail or grocery sales experience, Paul and Liz decided it was time to think outside the box; maybe even design a new box. In 2012 they launched the African Bronze Honey Project to bring the honey to Canadian schools as a fundraising project. The Project is an innovative, healthy and educational way for school kids to learn about some of the issues rural Zambians face while earning substantial fundraising dollars for their own school projects. Students learn a valuable lesson with every bottle sold.

Forest Fruits Ltd. has trained over 6000 independent beekeepers and produces over 800 tonnes of exceptional organic forest honey each year. In an area where there is almost no employment and cash was non-existent, these efforts have transformed thousands of lives.

The idea is spreading and new beekeeping projects are starting up in countries like Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda and more. We’re excited to say that soon you will also see organic, fair trade African Bronze honeys from these countries.