Location: Kasese District, Uganda

Key(s): Acess to Food & Water, Economic Empowerment

Hope for Rural Women (HORUWO) is a community-based organization in the Kasese District of Uganda working to implement community health education and livelihood improvement projects. The organization focuses on addressing poverty among women, which has been exacerbated in recent years by climate change causing both flooding and droughts. The extreme weather has put a near complete halt to the region’s subsistence farming, which provided both food and income to many families. Additionally, the Kasese district has an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 11.2%, creating major health problems for men and women who are already facing poverty. Those with HIV/AIDS as well as the many people lacking literacy are not qualified for traditional jobs, and therefore struggle to find a means to support themselves and their families.

The team at HORUWO has set out to identify a solution to this problem, by providing a source of income to community members on the margins. HORUWO found that beekeeping could be a sustainable replacement for traditional farming. The raw materials to create beehives are readily available and honey has a number of medicinal properties in addition to being highly valued in local and international markets. Beehives are much less sensitive to extreme changes in weather which makes it a smart long term source of income. 

For this project, HORUWO identified 35 members of the community who lacked a source of income, many due to HIV/AIDS and illiteracy. They have purchased 15 beehives and trained the cohort on how to manage an apiary, collect honey and sell it at market. The project will provide income for the group and allow the organization to expand the program and train more people on beekeeping. With additional funds from Rockflower, HORUWO is now working to find ways to scale this project. 

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