Israeli INGO, Tevel b'Tzedek, launched a beekeeping project. Supported by MASHAV-Israel's Agency for Development Cooperation through the Embassy of Israel in Nepal, this is the first of its kind project run by Nepali experts.

Run by MASHAV Alumni, Pradeep Neupane, who attended the MASHAV course on Modern Apiculture Management: Honey, Byproducts, and Pollination in 2016 succeeded in getting the MASHAV support of 1 million rupees.

Expressing happiness to see the success of the project, Hanan Goder, Former Ambassador of Israel to Nepal said, “the work that Tevel b'Tzedek is doing is very important because it is doing Sustainable Development. The direct involvement of farmers in the project is worth mentioning as it’s a rare cooperation between the state, the INGO, and the private sector.” He further mentioned, “Agriculture is not a hobby. It’s a profession and business. You invest thus, you get a return.”

Dr. Bishnu Chapagain, Country Director of TEVEL NEPAL said, “If agriculture goes wrong, nothing will be right. Bee is a beneficial insect, very effective for plant pollination and its product is highly nutritious and medicinal value”.

Pradeep Neupane, Agriculture Program Coordinator of Nyayik Sansar and MASHAV Alumni said, “bee Keeping is a very important business for the rural community which has a capacity to uplift their socio-economic condition.’

Under this project, 46 farmers from deprived communities with limited traditional beekeeping knowledge are getting benefitted who will get a Special 10 Days Long Beekeeping practical oriented advanced training later. Each trained farmer receives 3 Apismellifera bee colonies with modern bee hives along with necessary tools for modern beekeeping.

According to a press release issued by Embassy of Israel, these beekeepers will constantly be mentored by project Bee Technicians and Bee Expert on farm level. Necessary training and exposure visits will also be made available to the beekeepers for honey harvesting, processing, and marketing. This project has expected that each beekeeper will earn the additional income of Rs 100,000 per year and their bee colonies reached 20by the end of the project period.SunapatiGaupalika is recognized as Organic Honey Producing Area in Ramechhap. Within a three-year period, there will be at least 100 commercial beekeepers.

During the ceremony, a short video presentation about the project was shown. There were a poster presentation and the demo on using the bee-hive equipment. The program concluded with the joyous event of dipping apple in the honey to evoke sweet New Year coinciding with the Jewish New Year-Rosh Hashana and Nepali festival-Dashain.

Tevel b’Tzedek (TEVEL), an Israeli INGO has been running Community Development Project (CDP) in the western part of Ramchhap district of Nepal (Bethan, Hiledevi, and Khaniyapani VDC-currently SunapatiGaupalika). The main objective of this project is to improve the livelihoods of earthquake affected rural community and increased income. Like other parts of mid-hills of Nepal, agriculture is the main source of livelihood of this area as well; however, in comparison to other areas this part of Ramechhap occurs less rainfall and become dry. This causes lack of water for conventional cereals/vegetable based agriculture to this area.

A feasibility study done by Israeli and Nepali Bee expert has shown that Beekeeping (Apiculture) could be a potential agro-enterprise to this area. A successful Beekeeping is not only increased the income but also the nutrition of the rural people by honey, wax and other byproducts but also improves the crop yields through pollination and maintains biodiversity.

Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was founded in 1957 and is responsible for the design, coordination, and implementation of the State of Israel’s development cooperation programs. In events of natural disasters, MASHAV provides humanitarian assistance and participates in reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

Around 40 Nepali professionals participate in MASHAV courses held in Israel every year. More than 3,500 Nepalese attended different MASHAV courses so far.