What we do

After a 10 year residency near Lamin, BEECause Gambia’s headquarters - Kumoo Kunda (KK) Mandinka for ‘home of bees’ - is now located in the Abuko Nature Reserve, Kombo West.

At KK, BEECause Gambia (BCG) runs beekeeping training programmes and events, trials methods/techniques and equipment, and operates the market support and development programme which encourages production by guaranteeing a market for good quality products. Horticulture training and habitat conservation together with ongoing field support are carried out in the communities.

Bees are most active during the dry season, between November and June. Bees produce less honey during the rainy season, July to October, because the honey is hydroscopic and cannot be stored in combs. Colonies reduce to worker bees and all honey produced is needed to support the colony.

Sources of funding

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Like most small development organisations, BEECause is reliant on external funding. Most project grants are for periods of 12-18 months and are obtained competitively from international funders. The goal is that BCG’s core organisation will become self-financing through trading products from the community of organisations and individuals it has trained, but it will continue to be dependent on grants for major projects.

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The future

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The urgent need for BCG and other development organisations in similar fields of activity is to upscale their activities substantially.  Current social and economic conditions combined with climate change represent daunting challenges. Population growth nearing 3%, extreme poverty and the lack of natural resources means that the work of all environmentally and ecologically focused organisations is ever more important.