Solution story: Buzzing in the face of climate change in a Ugandan highland, where beekeeping has become a mainstay—and a passion

Learn about how beekeeping has become both an alternative source of livelihood and a passion for mountain communities in Uganda in this solution story.
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A beekeeper with green leaves in the background
Training and equipment, including protective clothing, are helping families use beekeeping to offset the impact of climate change in Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains.Photo: Christian Mukama / ARCOS‍© Zoï Environment Network 2022

Summary

The women of Kikoka village are marked by the climate of Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains. The increasingly erratic rain that has made crop-growing a lottery fell so heavily in November 2021 that the river burst its banks. Eight people died, including two children whose bodies have never been found. The 10 beehives swept from the trees by the flooding Kuruhe River were a footnote to the human tragedy.But beekeeping has become a significant part of the community’s efforts to rebound from the flood and meet the here-and-now challenge of a changing climate.

Learn more about how the Kikoka Women Development Association has been supporting local families by providing alternative sources of livelihood, and discover why women in Uganda’s highlands are joining beekeeping groups in this Solution Story: Buzzing in the face of climate change.

This article is an abridged version of the original text, which can be accessed online: ‘Buzzing in the face of climate change. In aUgandan highland, beekeepinghas become a mainstay—and a passion’.Please access the original text for more detail, research purposes, full references, or to quote text.

Related solution in the Adaptation at Altitude Solutions Portal

This Solution Story describes the impacts of activities implemented by the Rwenzori Mountain Development Association (REMODA). For more details, including how they were designed, funded and implemented, see the solution on the Adaptation at Altitude portal:

Bzzzy Earnings – Promoting beekeeping in the Mount Rwenzori region

About Solution Stories

Solution Stories aim to bring some of the solutions shared in the Adaptation at Altitude Solutions Portal to life and put stakeholders and beneficiaries at the centre of reflections on the successes of the different solutions. Linked Solution Stories will be highlighted on their respective solutions in the Adaptation at Altitude Solutions Portal.