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Tom Lebert raised £210 from 4 supporters

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Closed 30/11/2017

0%
£210
raised of £8,000 target by 4 supporters

    Weʼve raised £210 to build bee fences to protect the crops of Kenyan small farmers from wild elephants

    Tsavo, Makueni County, Kenya
    Funded on Thursday, 30th November 2017

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    Story

    Over the past few months I have been working with the small farmers of the Nguluni Beekeepers Self Help Group in the Tsavo area of Kenya to find a solution to elephants raiding their fields and destroying their crops. Ideally we would like to erect electric fences, but the cost of this is very high. So instead we have have identified 'bee fences' as a possible solution.

    A bee fence involves erecting a single strand wire fence with bee boxes suspended at regular intervals along its length. When elephants try and push their way through the fence the bee boxes are disturbed and the bees swarm to protect their hives. The swarming of the bees drives off the elephants. This ingenious and simple solution has proven successful in other parts of Kenya. And, in addition to providing protection from elephant the bees also provide honey that can be sold to generate much needed cash income for the farmers. So this is what we are raising funds for.

    We need approximately £3000 for the materials to build the bee boxes and the fences for the 28 members of this group. We also need money to purchase protective clothing to allow these farmers to safely work with the bees. In addition we want to buy the equipment needed to extract, process, and bottle the honey. The protective clothing and the processing equipment will cost approximately £3000, and will be shared by the members. Finally, we need to raise money to provide basic training in beekeeping. We have already been in discussion with the Kwetu Training Centre in the nearby city of Mombasa to provide this training. Training for 10 farmers will cost £2000. These 10 farmers will then share what they learn with the rest of the group.

    Your support for this project would be enormously appreciated, and would make a real difference to the lives of my friends in Nguluni. It would also go some way to reducing the conflict between people and elephants in this area, allowing them to live in greater harmony.

    Updates

    1

    • Tom Lebert7 years ago
      Tom Lebert

      Tom Lebert

      7 years ago

      Although we have not raised any money yet our work has continued. We had a strategy meeting last week to plan the way forward and we also visited a demonstration bee fence in the community. Folks are really excited at the prospects of being able to do this.

      Share this update to help us raise more

    7 years ago

    Tom Lebert started crowdfunding

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    Page last updated on: 9/11/2017 03.36

    Supporters

    4

    • Stefania Viola

      Stefania Viola

      Sep 11, 2017

      £50.00

    • Denise Colgrove

      Denise Colgrove

      Sep 8, 2017

      I too am wildly passionate about Africa and coming from a save the elephants and the people project I appreciate your efforts.

      £50.00

    • Renée

      Renée

      Jul 31, 2017

      I wish you loads of luck.

      £10.00

    • Thomas Lebert

      Thomas Lebert

      Jul 25, 2017

      I thought important to make my own contribution to this project

      £100.00

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    About the fundraiser
    Tom Lebert

    Tom Lebert

    Tsavo, Makueni County, Kenya

    I have spent much of the past 25 years working a rural development expert in Africa. I am now taking some time out to pursue my passion for wildlife photography and to do some voluntary community work in Kenya.I am deeply passionate about Africa and want to give something back.

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