Honey, Hope, and a Journey to Bahir Dar
When Aberash Yaynealem stood behind her table at the Bahir Dar trade fair, carefully arranging jars of golden honey, she was holding more than a product—she was holding a personal victory.
Aberash Yaynealem (left), a MaYEA Program participant, and a group of participants (right) at the Bahir Dar Trade Fair, December, 29, 2025.
“I had a long-standing wish to visit Bahir Dar,” she said, her face lighting up as customers stopped to taste her honey. “Being part of the MaYEA program and bringing my honey here made me very happy.”
For Aberash, a young beekeeper from Lay Gayint Woreda in the Amhara Region who was internally displaced about four years ago, the journey to Bahir Dar was more than a matter of geography. It marked a transition from small-scale production and uncertainty to confidence, visibility, and connection to real markets.
From December 29, 2025, to January 5, 2026, 16 young women and men supported by the MaYEA (Mass Youth Employment in Apiculture) Program also showcased their products at the trade fair. The event, organized in collaboration with the Amhara Region Trade and Market Development Bureau, aimed to connect producers directly with consumers and make agricultural and industrial products available at affordable prices.
The MaYEA program youth exhibitors at the Bahir Dar trade fair, with Getsh Kasa, Program Manager, BfDE, and Tadese Zebeaman, Program Manager, ORDA Ethiopia, Dec. 29, 2025
The MaYEA youth exhibitors presented more than 588 kilograms of semi-processed and raw honey, along with 1,576 eggs, produced across diverse landscapes of the Amhara Region, from ORDA Ethiopia in the Meket Cluster woredas of Farta, Andabet, Simada, Sedie Muja, Gubalafto, Wadla, Lay Gayint, Angot, Gidan, and Guna Begemidir, to the Bees for Development Ethiopia Cluster woredas of Banja, Fagta Lekoma, Yilmana Densa, and Gozamin. The honey on display reflected both ecological richness and youthful enterprise.
The MaYEA Program, implemented by ORDA Ethiopia, Bees for Development Ethiopia, Population Health and Environment Ethiopia Consortium, and The Well in Action in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, equips young people with modern beekeeping skills, access to inputs, and market linkages. For many participants, the Bahir Dar trade fair was the first opportunity to sell directly to urban consumers and receive immediate feedback.
“It changes how you see your work,” Aberash said. “People ask questions, they taste your honey, and they value it.”
The fair also brought together actors from across the beekeeping value chain. Desalegn Marie, an input supplier from Andabet Woreda, saw the exhibition as a learning space as much as a marketplace.
Dr. Abebe Jenberie, PhD, (left) Apiculture Lead, MaYEA Program, consults Desalegn Marie at the Bahir Dar trade fair, Dec. 29, 2025
“This trade fair gave me a great opportunity to connect with producers and learn more about beekeeping practices,” he said. “I see how much youth are improving when they have the right tools.”
Desalegn has been supplying protective equipment to MaYEA participants through loan-based arrangements. According to him, the transitional hives demand has grown rapidly as youth producers report higher yields and better honey quality.
“Because they are benefiting, they want more,” he explained. In response, he plans to scale up hive production for the 2026 beekeeping season, expanding access across Andabet and other woredas in the Amhara Region.
As the trade fair drew to a close, jars of honey were lighter, conversations richer, and confidence stronger. For Aberash and her peers, the experience reaffirmed something important: with the right support, young people can build livelihoods rooted in local resources and skills.
Standing among customers and fellow producers, Aberash smiled.
“This honey took me far,” she said. “Not away from home—but closer to a better future.”
The MaYEA Program is being implemented nationwide in Ethiopia by ORDA Ethiopia, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, icipe, and the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, IIRR, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.