CUSO seeks beekeeper for Albert Schweitzer Ecological Centre in Burkina Faso

CUSO Burkina and the Albert Schweitzer Ecological Centre (CEAS) are seeking a Technical Assistant in Beekeeping. The goal of this placement is to organize apiary coordination of the network of beekeepers supervised by the CEAS, to participate in the technical supervision of beekeepers for greater effectiveness and profitability, and to promote the integration of beekeeping into agricultural activities. Provide support for beekeepers in market research and organizing the marketing of honey.

The deadline for this employment opportunity has been extended to 6 August 2007.

PLACEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES:
 
• Advise on agricultural production and beekeeping;
• Organize management of a center for collecting and processing honey;
• Strengthen beekeepers’ technical capacities;
• Support quality control and honey marketing.

QUALIFICATIONS:
 
• Advanced studies in Agriculture, with practical experience in beekeeping.
• Good knowledge of beekeeping production techniques;
• Good knowledge of organizing apiarian coordination;
• Knowledge of the organization and supervision of an agricultural producers’
  network.
• Solid knowledge based on at least two years in the field of beekeeping.

IMPORTANT NOTES TO APPLICANTS:
Please submit your application in French. The working language for this placement is the local language as well as French. Our partner agency in the field and our local country staff, which we collaborate with for the short listing of applications, do not work in English. Applications in French can then be easily shared with our overseas offices for review and consideration.

INTERESTED APPLICANTS MUST APPLY ON-LINE at www.cuso.org. Please ensure you have read the “How to Apply” section before submitting an application. If you encounter any difficulty or have questions that are not answered on the website, please email Cooperant@cuso.ca.

The Globe and Mail has published a lively article that gives a glimpse inside the buzzing world of city apiarists in Canada. It tells of several “small-time criminals,” who flouted local laws and bribed their neighbours with honey, making for some light-hearted reading — that raises a few points to ponder.

Laws vary between municipalities across the rest of the country, but most cities limit the number of hives or ban urban beekeeping, generally out of concerns over health, safety and agricultural management.

Yet in backyards, on porches and on rooftops across Canada, a growing number of urban apiarists are quietly tending their hives, many discreetly tucked behind a tall hedge or fence….

And generally, neighbours are happy to keep their mouths shut - in exchange for pollinated geraniums and a small gift to sweeten the deal.

Some 10,000 beekeepers keep hives that are properly registered with the provincial agriculture departments in this country — but the numbers of illegal beekeepers are hard to estimate.

Bee officials rarely receive complaints about urban beekeepers - and when they do, it usually has less to do with bees than “neighbours not getting along,” says Mr. Halsall, who inspects bees in the Ottawa area.

Ontario law forbids the keeping of bees within 30 metres of a property line, which pretty much rules out any kind of apiculture on small urban and suburban lots. The city of Vancouver, on the other hand, lifted its ban on beekeeping in 2005. Here in New Brunswick, the situation seems to vary from one municipality to another…

As the interest in honey bees grows, and industry education efforts help the general public to appreciate the role of honey bees in food production and ecology, can we expect to see more backyard bee hives in Canadian cities and suburbs?

See:
Honey, I’m home: They hide behind hedges and bribe neighbours not to reveal their crimes. Inside the buzzing world of city apiarists by Hayley Mick
The Globe and Mail, 27 July 2007

See also: comments on the newspaper article from Globe and Mail readers.

Twenty strong hives are offered for sale in the Fredericton area.

• Two brood chambers, complete
• Queen excluders and Quebec-style bee escapes included
• No honey supers
• Hives were inspected by Fletcher & Mary Colpitts in the spring

 
Price = $175 per hive.

For more information, call Dan Cornford at (506) 472-8756.