SUCCESS STORY 6

Full certification HWH Liwonde. HWH LIWONDE ATTAINS MBS FULL CERTIFICATION. It was joy for HwH/AP staff in Liwonde on 27 th September, 2024 when HwH qualified for the award of the MBS Certificate for its Choice Grace Pure Uchi Honey. The struggle started in the year 2020 when HwH started processing its honey for it to make it into the Malawi Market. As a precondition, HwH registered with the Malawi Bureau of Standards so that they can assess our Namwera Honey Facility as well as our honey. Figure 1 The HwH Project Officer receiving the MBS Full Certificate from the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry on behalf of Honey with Heart. For the past 5 years, MBS has been monitoring our honey through quarterly Audit Inspections. In 2021, MBS granted us a Pre-Permit Certificate that enabled us sell our honey as they continue to assess us for the full certificate. Our honey penetrated the Malawi Market while on the other hand, fighting to get the full Certificate. 3 years after the Pre-Permit Certificate, after scoring highly in the subsequent Audit Inspections, our honey qualified for the award of a full Certificate. What this means now is that HwH Liwonde Honey can be sold anywhere in the country and even beyond. As HwH, we will still work tirelessly to maintain this Certificate for so many years to come. Asked to comment on the success, Henry Kapito the Hive Technician, who also doubles as a medically qualified Food Handler at HwH Liwonde had this to say: ‘’I am very excited that after struggling for a whooping 4 years, we finally got the Certificate. This means our hard work as HwH Project has born fruits’’, said Henry. ‘’I thank the Project Coordinator and Park Management for providing guidance and support for us to achieve this’’, concluded Henry.  

SUCCESS STORY 7

MBS training HWH Liwonde. HWH LIWONDE FACILITATES MBS TRAINING FOR ITS LEAD BEEKEEPERS. In a bid to strengthen our grip on the full certification HwH Liwonde got from Malawi Bureau of Standards, HwH organized a Training in Food Quality and Personal Hygiene. A total of 40 Beekeepers were targeted for this course. The MBS Officials facilitated the training. This training took place from 24 th to 25 th October, 2024. The 40 Top Lead Beekeepers turnedup at the Liwonde National Park Environmental Education Centre where the training took place. 2 Officials from the MBS, Mrs Gertrude Boti Phiri and Mr Samson Mpaso facilitated the training. It was a wonderful experience for the Beekeepers who were attending such type of training for the first time in their lives, thanks to Honey with Heart. Figure 1 Participants posed for a group photo after concluding the training at Liwonde National Park. The Beekeepers, apart from enjoying the content of the training, also enjoyed the quality food and accommodation, that was sponsored by Honey with Heart. Gender wise, 23 men and 17 women attended the training. When asked to comment on the experience after the training, Joyce Saizi, a woman Lead Beekeeper from Nombo Village in Mangochi District was very excited and had this to say: ‘’I am on cloud nine because of this training. Food Hygiene is paramount as highlighted duringthis training. I have learned a lot of issues and my handling of honey will completely improve for the better, including my own household food’’, she said. ‘’Apart from the training, I thank HwH for organizing this training, and also for the hospitality they have showed us here by giving us quality food as well as quality accommodation’’, concluded Joyce. Mr Ajibu Nambweni, another Lead Beekeeper from Chisawa Village in Balaka District was equally excited with the training and had this to say in a brief interview, ‘’I am very excited. We thank HwH for funding this training. MBS is a very reputable organization in Malawi, getting this type of training from them is not a mean achievement. I feel great’’, concludedMr Nambweni, himself a seasoned Beekeeper courtesy of Honey with Heart.