Mark Masalimo shows off his honey making skills

Sweet Success for Young Malawian Bee-Keeper

Mark Masalimo is a 25-year-old Malawian from Chikwawa district in Southern Malawi. Before he listened to a USAID-sponsored radio program, it used to take him over three months to sell his 1.5 tons of honey at local markets.   

One day, he listened to Chuma Chobisika (Hidden Treasure), a USAID-supported radio program which promotes sustainable harvesting of natural resources.  The president of Eco-Products Ltd (EPL, a Malawian company) was featured on the program.  The president described the work EPL was doing in Northern Malawi to organize beekeepers so that the volume of honey available for sale made the expensive price of transportation from more rural areas worth it for the company.

This addressed a problem that many small-scale bee-keepers face: not having enough honey to access markets.  Mr. Anthony Mukumbwa, EPL president, said during the interview that any group anywhere in Malawi that could pull together a half ton of honey could call him and he would send his trucks to purchase the honey.  Mark and many others took EPL up on this offer, as Mr. Mukumbwa later reported that his phone was ringing steadily over the next several weeks following this interview.

Mark managed to make a deal with EPL Company to purchase all of his honey. This reduced the time and money he normally spent marketing his honey.  Mark increased his income from US$560 in 2004 to US$ 1875 in 2005.  
Currently, Malawi produces about 50 tons of honey per year, but the country has the capacity to produce up to 240 tons.  USAID funds the COMPASS II Project which is working to increase honey production capacity in Malawi.  COMPASS II has designed and distributed training guides including a DVD demonstrating best practices which can be used throughout the country.  This will lead to better production, higher quality honey, and, of course, increased incomes for the bee-keepers.

COMPASS II (Community Partnerships for Sustainable Resource Management in Malawi) is a USAID funded activity implemented by Development Alternatives Inc. COMPASS works with government, NGOs and the private sector to create an enabling environment for communities to manage sustainable harvesting of natural resources, thereby increasing rural incomes, reducing environmental degradation, and maintaining biodiversity. One of COMPASS’ targets is to increase household revenue generated by sale of natural resource-based products to US$750,000 nationally by 2008.