As part of the project “Beekeeping as a tool of empowering for mine victims from Bosnia and Herzegovina – Phase 4”, a four-day training was completed on Thursday, March 21, 2024. The training was attended by over 40 beekeepers from all over BiH, who were addressed by the ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in BiH, H. E. Damjan Sedar and Nebojša Vidaković, Assistant Minister for Veterans and Disabled Persons’ Protection of the Government of the Republic of Srpska.
Lectures in Banja Luka were held by the instructors of the Beekeeping Academy of Slovenia on the following topics:
- Beekeeping Tasks by Month and Queen breeding – handling and management
(Mitja Smrdel, president of the Slovenian Professional Beekeepers Association),
- Summer brood interruption as strategy for effective Varroa control
(Mateja Ratiznojnik, Veterinary Faculty University of Ljubljana) and
- Swarming – Prevention and control, Honeybee nutrition in winter months
(Gorazd Trušnovec, president of the Urban Beekeepers Association of Slovenia).
The central purpose of the project is to empower beekeepers, mine victims, with knowledge that will help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their beekeeping activity. Beekeeping makes it possible to establish stable household incomes and improve the quality of life of vulnerable social groups. In general, beekeeping is extremely suitable for small-scale agricultural activities in places where capital and technological resources are limited, therefore it offers many employment opportunities for people with disabilities, since it is based on work at home.
The project “Beekeeping as a means of empowering mine victims from Bosnia and Herzegovina – Phase 4” is carried out in partnership with the humanitarian, non-profit organization ITF Enhancing Human Security (ITF) and the local partner Organization of Amputees UDAS Republika Srpska. The project is financed by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia.
Haley Benbow is a Postgraduate Fellow from Harvard University who is in Slovenia to study beekeeping and its relation to Slovenian culture. She will be working in partnership with the Beekeeping Academy of Slovenia, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, through September 2024. Her academic background is in food studies, public health, and environmental science, but with this project, she is taking an anthropological approach. She is interested in learning as much as possible through visits to Slovenian cultural institutions, participating in apiculture activities, and speaking with people working in all aspects of beekeeping and its related products.
The March edition of the Ukrainian beekeeping newspaper, Pasika, featured an article spotlighting our initiative, highlighting how beekeeping serves as a significant empowering tool for vulnerable communities, including mine and UXO survivors.
Since 2021, in collaboration with partners ITF Enhancing Human Security and The Organization of Amputees Republike Srpske (UDAS), we’ve been working to equip survivors with the skills and resources needed to establish small-scale beekeeping businesses. Through comprehensive training sessions, study visits, and the establishment of the Beekeeping Center in Banja Luka, we’re not only providing a sustainable source of income but also fostering confidence, independence, and a sense of purpose among participants.
Beekeeping isn’t just a hobby; it’s a fulfilling activity and a tool for social inclusion and empowerment. As one participant put it, “Ovo nije hobi, ovo je ljubav” – “This is not a hobby, it’s love”.
The entire article is available at the following link: Beekeeping project from BiH published in Ukrainain beekeeping newspaper
The ApiSlovenia fair is the largest professional beekeeping event in Europe and has traditionally been held for more than 40 years. In addition to the exhibition program, ApiSlovenia also offers expert lectures on beekeeping. On Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17, 2024, Beekeeping Academy of Slovenia presented at the exhibition area four hand-made models of beehives (in a uniform scale of 1:25), which represent the typology of Slovenian beehives. They are part of the Slovenian cultural landscape and the rich heritage of folk architecture, beekeeping and unique folk art – the painting of beehive panels. The beehives are the work of architect Damjan Popelar (https://www.galeriakozolec.si/), who reconstructed them on the basis of archival field photographs of the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum from the middle of the 20th century and the Register of old beehives, which has been managed by the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association since 2014.
