Trit

By Kahisay Girmay (ORDA-Lasta)

Farmer Trit Sefiw, 32, a dweller of Yekorata Got, in Erfa kebele, Lasta district. He is married and has one son and two daughters. The land, which is about 0.25 hectare, and that he inherited from their parents as means of survival was never enough to sustain the family’s livelihood. Hence, he has been keeping on leading his family by renting additional farm land from other farmers and sharing the yield.

Believing in changing his livelihood condition, farmer Trit has continued his effort in beekeeping with a single traditionally hived colony purchased with 200 Birr since 2009 G.C. He recalled that his parents had many colonies which left their hives due to unknown reasons”.

He has strived in taking care of his beekeeping activity and stated this situation: “I didn’t harvest much from this hive in 2009/011 G.C as its colonies were split into two. And then, I split them into three hives in 2011/012; I earned Birr 1050 from the honey harvested from those hives”. 

When the development agents and kebele administration selected him as a lead farmer to be trained on queen bee rearing training organized and conducted by the ORDA Lasta Lalibela Plan HVC project in 2012 G.C., the colony he had was three.

During the queen rearing training seasonal colony management practices, selection of places to keep honeybees, importance of constructing hive stands and the necessary protective measures against ant and other enemy attacks was included. And following the training, the project supported him in providing materials such as nuclei box, queen excluder for the queen rearing /splitting/, and veil and smoker for effective management of the beekeeping activities.

After received the queen rearing training, he went back to home and split his colonies and obtain six additional colonies and said as follows: “it was impossible for me to buy additional colonies by the current price. So that because of these colonies I could secure Birr 4800.00”.

After took part in practical training held in 2012 G.C and bought modern hive in credit and transferred the colonies into it, he began modern beekeeping practice. Farmer Trit disclosed what he achieved from such practice: “I earned an income 4900 Birr from 70kg of honey harvested in 2012 G.C”. He also unveiled what he felt about it: “I’m so glad that I have gotten the honey which I have never had and seen in my neighborhood”.

Apart from this, as a lead farmer he is expected to train and demonstrate other households engaged in beekeeping business near to his respective communities. Thus, he served as a bee technician. Farmer Trit said that “beyond supporting my life, I have extended the knowledge and skill to my neighbors to multiply colonies and properly manage their apiary. In doing so, he has supported and trained six farmer beekeepers.

W/ro Emebet Kassaye, his wife, has provided support for beekeeping activity. She clarified the support as follows: “as I have possessed experience from the indigenous knowledge of my family, smoking while harvesting honey, ready equipment necessary for honey collection and feed and take of bees during a winter season; sometimes I support him in honey collection too”.

Farmer Trit disclosed his future goal: “here after, I won’t rent and engage in farming activity. And I will plan to lead my life in extensively involving in beekeeping. As I’m well skilled in colony splitting, I don’t need to buy colony for expand the bee rearing.