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.