Last year, as part of the Productive Women, Strong Futures project launched by our team to support the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, 25 women entrepreneurs living in Efemçukuru, Çatalca and Kavacık have received certified beekeeping training in Türkiye. Participants who successfully completed the training were awarded certificates by the Menderes Public Education Directorate.
150 local participants
Launched in Izmir last year and continuing in Uşak this year, the project aims to empower women in the region by including them in economic life. One hundred and fifty women living in the surrounding villages were trained in areas including beekeeping, mushroom production, packaging, soap production, entrepreneurial coaching, financial literacy and digital marketing. Manisa Viticulture Research Institute also organized a vocational training seminar on grape seed oil production.
100-hive apiary colony
Project participants have rolled up their sleeves to produce pine honey, pollen, propolis and royal jelly, which have alternative economic returns to regional production.
Accompanied by a professional beekeeper, these entrepreneurs will now have the opportunity to learn additional technical skills through field practices that will take place once a week in the 100-hive apiary colony established by our team in Türkiye. The training aims to increase the number of hives and producers in coming years.
Apart from having economic benefits, such as generating income and providing employment opportunities for rural development, beekeeping is also considered a sustainable and environmentally friendly practice in terms of its contribution to biodiversity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), about 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend on pollination by animals, especially bees. However, around 16.5% of some bee species are threatened with extinction. This makes projects and agricultural practices that promote beekeeping even more important.