SIGINALA EXCELS TO ECONOMIC FREEDOM THROUGH BEEKEEPING.
Yusuf Siginala, is a 48-year-old Beekeeper from Mmenyanga village, GVH Mmenyanga, T/A Jalasi in Mangochi District. He joined Mmenyanga Beekeeping Club in 2020, under African Parks in Mangochi Forest Reserve. After joining the club, they firstly received 6 Top Bar Hives as a club in 2020 and then received 12 Langstroth Hives in 2021. In 2021, Yusuf, alongside a few other members of his club, were shortlisted to attend an intensive 2 days training that was provided by HwH and African Parks. After that training, Yusuf’s attitude towards Beekeeping changed. He saw some hidden treasurer in Beekeeping that needed to be uncovered. Through that training, Yusuf realized he can make more money from Beekeeping by increasing hives for himself apart from the ones they benefited from HwH/AP as a club. Yusuf, in the year 2021 realised just 21 kgs for the entire club, being the first year. However, in 2022, Yusuf purchased 11 Hives for him personally. From these hives, he realised MK 486,000 from honey sales. Yusuf’s focus on Beekeeping went further, such that he purchased some more 20 hives to increase honey harvest in the coming year. As the year 2023 was drawing to an end, Yusuf had harvested and sold to AP 305 kgs of honey realizing over MK1 million in the process. He has become the highest Beekeeper to realize such an amount in both Mangochi Forest Reserve and Liwonde National Park. He currently has 31 Hives purchased from money from honey sales and his future in the Beekeeping Enterprise looks very bright.
After visiting him to learn more about his successes, he had this to say,” All the years I have been on earth, I didn’t know there is money in Beekeeping. It was until the HwH Project came to our area that I realised there is hidden treasure in Beekeeping. The training I attended at the Namwera Honey House in Mangochi opened my eyes. The project gave us starter pack hives, and after realizing the benefits, I thought of not depending on AP alone, I thought of adding my hives in order to increase my honey harvests. It has worked for me and my future looks bright. For the first time in my life, I was able to have MK1million at one goal. I am very excited and very thankful to HwH and African Parks,’’ said Yusuf. ‘’My economic life has changed completely. I have bought a motorcycle and I plan to open a shop, to improve my livelihood. Currently school fees to my kids is no longer a hustle’’, concluded Yusuf Siginala.