Pokot warriors attack Sinyati Beekeepers
We've taken great pleasure in reporting the progress of the Sinyati women's beekeeping group, whom we having been supporting. They work hard to develop additional income streams, and have started to sell the a-maizing beesuit, and develop cosmetics based on beeswax. However, the path out of poverty is full of hard knocks, and it is particularly disappointing to have to report that their village has been attacked, and their livestock stolen. This theft was done at the point of a gun on 18th June, and several members of the group, including the chairwoman, had their homes sprayed with bullets during the attack. The loss is devastating, as they are very dependent on their animals for income and food.
Cattle rustling is a fact of life for subsistence farmers on the Kenya/Uganda border, and is often attributable to the Pokot warriors. The Pokots are one of the tribal groupings in the area, and themselves are subsistence pastoralists. A complex set of socio-economic factors bring different groups into conflict, but the main cause must simply be the harsh realities of subsistence living, for many people who live in this remote part of Kenya and Uganda. Disarming the warriors is the focus of political efforts, and government agencies are seeking to recover the animals, but these problems are long-standing and difficult to impact substantively.
The Pokot tribesmen who come to steal the livestock do not bother with bees or hives as the bees, with their defensive behaviours, are a much tougher proposition to steal than cattle. In fact the community feels the only secure livelihood is beekeeping because no warrior will come to steal bee colonies. Their local mentor, David Njuguna is encouraging them to keep bees as a protection against livelihood shocks, and an assured income generating activity. The group have 14 hives from the money donated by the Oxted One World Group and three women have recently attended a 3-day course put on by the National Beekeeping Station Staff, which focused on adding value to hive products.
This is a setback from which we hope the Sinyati women will recover quickly, and whilst we can’t do much to help the immediate situation, supporting and promoting their beekeeping and nascent bee-suit business is something that we hope will have longer-term benefits, being a different type of income.
