RCE Mau Ecosystem Complex-2013

1. Name of RCE : 
Mau Complex
2. Continent: 
Africa and Middle East
3. Country: 
Kenya
4.RCE Contact Details
Main RCE Contact: 
DR.JOHN MIRONGA RCE MAU COMPLEX EGERTON UNIVERSITY P.O. BOX 535 20115 EGERTONTel:+254 72728410
Secondary RCE Contact: 
MR.. JOSEPH MACHARIA BARAKA AGRICULTURALCOLLEGE P.O BOX 52 20106 MOLO tel:+254721569557
General RCE Email: 
john mironga
5. Project Title: 
Bee keeping and Sustainable livelihood
6. Thematic area/s addressed by the project
Sustainable consumption and learning
7.Project Partner Contact Information Provide information about the main contacts for the project. : 
Organization: 
BARAKA AGRICULTURAL COLLELE
Role: 
PROJECT DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
Main Contact: 
Francis kamau Principal +254 725 777 421 principal@sustainableagri.org
Organization: 
FACULTY OF ENVIROMENT EGERTON UNIVESITY
Role: 
COORDINATING AND NETWORKING WITH MAU RCE STAKE HOLDERS
Main Contact: 
JOHN MIRONGA +254727284108 mmironga@yahoo.com
Organization: 
TROCAIRE
Role: 
FUNDING
Main Contact: 
Francis Omunde femon@trocaire.or.ke
Organization: 
SELF HELP AFRICA
Role: 
FUNDING
Main Contact: 
David Otieno david-0tieno@selfhelpafrica.org
Organization: 
Promara Pragrame
Role: 
Funding and community mobilization
Main Contact: 
Fabian Musila fmusila@ard-promara.com
Organization: 
Mau development project
Role: 
Community mobilization and provision of bee keeping kit
Main Contact: 
James Makumi James-makumi@yahoo.com
Organization: 
Ewaso Nyiro south development authority ENSDA
Role: 
Community mobilization
Main Contact: 
Peter kinyanjui
8. Project type
Capacity Development
Community Engagement
Networking
Research and Development
9. Project Description Provide a short description of the project including regional challenges it addresses, its aims as well as project activities/strategies Allow text field (character count 500 words): 
Beekeeping for sustainable livelihood as a brainchild of Baraka Agricultural College geared towards realization of sustsinbale forest management and forms the keys tenets of Agenda 21 and the Millenium Development Goals.The project is designed on the premise that development can only be reaslized when the livehood security is upheld and communities livelihood structures maintained
The project adopts community resource management staetgy and use forest as resources through which beekeeping can be used to enhance the quality of the forest. It envisions that for sucessful forest management and biodersity consvration, simple to do and cultural accepted project have a role to play.
Capacity building and training on beekeeping is the mode mostly used to break the attitude and impart skills and knowlegde to who would be the key stakeholders including the concerned communities. Thus, the project addresses the challenges of forest resources degradation, adpatation to risks and counteracting the effects of the changing climate.
The main project activities revovle around training on various aspects of beekeeping including prodcution upto harvestiong, value addition of bee products and marketing of such prodcuts to break the cyscle of dependence of forest resource and ensure the economic security of household in the catchment. It is based on the belief that through education where relevant skill and knowlegde is acquired, sustainable consumption becomes a reality.
10. Project Status
Open
12. Duration of the Project Start Date: End date:: 
Monday, April 6, 2009 to Monday, December 9, 2013
Describe Coordination and management of the project. Please also reflect how the RCE as a network organization has contributed to the project and the challenges involved, if any. Character count 400 words : 
• Baraka agricultural college has four department namely education and training with four section , outreach with six programmes,business development with two units and lastly administration and finance department. All the departments did enable the bee keeping to realize its objectives.. Education and training has tailor made courses for short and long term bee keeping course particiapant. Business development unit offer artisan course for bee keeping beside production of bee keeping kit Outreach mobilize community, network and collaborate with community based organization and government mainstream mimistries while administration and finace mobilize resources,M& E and deal with legal related issues. Bee development unit has A coordinator whose act as the link between BAC and partnes and ensure department work in harmony in implementation of bee related activities.depending on the needs of our cliente. Training has been conducted on college or on site.Business development unit provide link to the market.These department has also developed PESA Model which has enabled bee farmers to market their product. Through RCE network and forums opportunities in bee keeping have reached to many, training opportunity generated and bee related products and services produced and used.it was during one the very RCE meeting that ENSDA and Mau Development project were identified as partners and later they mobilized their communities to come for training.One the challenge was that many of the stakeholders had interest in bee keeping but were limited by scarce that could not enable them get started or go for training, another challenge was call for more sensitization forums as opposed to doing it at workshops, where there is greater audience.if these is to be realised a greater pool of resources would be required. In the first meeting there more stakeholdes but the number has continued to drop, which may be attributed to lack of or inadequate facilitation’
14. What are the current results of the project in terms of outputs (e.g. publications, developed practices, course materials)? Character count 300 words: 
The proejct has led to many delivarebale including
1. Human sucess strioes of how beekeeping is chnaging the lives of many in the catchment
2. Development of the field learning laboratories on sustainbale development practices
3. Course content development for training in beekeeping and management
4. Research papers on beekeeping and the link to sustainable development in resource constrained countries

15. What are the expected/confirmed outcomes (e.g. impact of the project) Character count 400 words: 
By and large the project has realized many benefits that could be termed as benefical in the long run to the targetted communities especialyy those in the catchment and the environs. For instsnace, there has been direct and indirect employment creation to the small sclae farmers and the key players in the bee industry. the impact of this has been the shift from from direct dependence and withdrawal of forest goods and services to indirectly whereby the benefits can be easily be spread to the future generations- sustainable dveleopment.
There has also been improved environmental quality within the catchment and environs that reduces the susceptibility and vulnerability of the communities inhabiting these areas against shocks and stress. This has been atributed to less populace being engaged in charcoal buruning and the resultant establishmnet of shrubs and tree species which acts as forage for bees. The environmental quality is manaifseted in the incresead green cover and common occuring rainfall; a phenomon not so frequent in the areas.
Moreover, there is a highly exhibited improvement in living standards as a resultant of change in the household income levels. This is evidenced from the the type of housing, incresaed number of school going children and the household purcahsing power which has tremendously changed.
Lastly, there has been signifcnat reduction in conflicts over resource use a phenomon coocasioned by diversification of livelihood sources and reduced dependence on one livelihood security especially for the poor rural households in the catchment.
16. Are there any unexpected/unplanned results achieved by your project? If yes, briefly describe or list them . Character count 200 words.: 
Yes
1. Reduced incidences of cough diseases as honey and other bee prodcuts are medicinal
2. development of bee marketing model - PESA MODEL that was not anticpated initailly
17. What are the remaining challenges and/or limitations for further development? Character count 300 words.: 
Challenges that face the project include;
1. The emerging technologies in bee industry that require monetary resources for purchase and adoption by the concerned communities
2. Attitudinal change: the misconception that beekeeping is not a lucrative entreprise and can only be carried out on part- time basis.

3. poor time in harvesting time that demoralizes the bee farmers in the pursuit of bee apiculture.
18. What is the project’s contribution to innovative and transformative educational processes for sustainable development (especially regarding formal and/ non-formal learning/research)? Character count 500 words: 
Designing and implementation of bee keeping as package may have made the following contribution;
•Shift from traditional to modern method of bee keeping that has led to increased production
•Documentation of bee related activities which are vital in curriculum development and research information sourcing
•Having training in class and on site trainings, make education to be need and demand driven
19.How can you scale up and mainstream ESD and SD practices of the project and enable it to contribute to the implementation of the Global Action Programme (GAP) as proposed by UNESCO? (max 300 words): 
The ESD and SD practices require financial resources for the implementation. The good practices of the project like on site training and providing it as a full package need to be incorporated in national curriculum. For bee keeping.to scale up and mainstream the bee keeping there is need to mobilize resources and develop a national curricula on bee keeping. BAC is one of the instituition offering bee keeping courses. In area where the project does well the government and other SD agencies should provide incentives to encourage many engage in these environmenatally friendly and socially accepted innovation.bee keeping associations need be developed at local, regional, national and international reforms. Thee associations should be wll structured to all information sharing and dissemination at all levels.successm cases and lesson learnt from bee keeping should be documented.
20. How does you project contribute institutional and policy reforms as part of sustainability change? Character count 500 words: 
Class room and on sitetraining on bee keeping will provide good foundation for a bee keeping curriculum that is locally relevant, culturaaly relevant,appropriate, age and gender sensitive. It is important to note in the course of project implementation many unforeseen challenges were experienced. These challenges shall form basis in design of future project design and policy formulation. By large the project has realized many benefits that could be termed as benefical in the long run to the targetted communities especialyy those in the catchment and the environs.There has also been improved environmental quality within the catchment and environs that reduces the susceptibility and vulnerability of the communities inhabiting these areas against shocks and stress. As government and sustainable development agencies thing of the future thay will borrow alot from what has worked in policy and institutional reforms
21. How does your project further improve capacities of various partners and stakeholders on the theme? Character count 500 words.: 
Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is about "the use of services and related products, which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardize the needs of future generations" (Oslo symposium, 1994).

Bee keeping as a project come as package that address most of the challenges faced by beginners to marketing of the product. Benefially are equipped with knowledge and skills related with bee keeping as sustainable livehood.Many of the partners will borrow from these approach of project design as a package. Through the rce networks, communities have been mobilized to training and using bee keeping related products. These is a lesson to all partners that there is need to network and collaborate with like minded stakeholders and partners for large and greater catchment. BAC alone could not have achieved a lot without our parters even if we heard all the resources at our disposal. Through network there is a widened pull of resources and duplication of activities is minimized.
23. What is novel about the project within the RCE network and what could other RCEs learn from this experience? (Answer only if relevant) Character count 250 words.: 
The College strive to be a centre of excellence in promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development. One of our success story is bee keepingdoes promote.Beekeeping for sustainable livelihood as a brainchild of Baraka Agricultural College geared towards realization of sustsinbale forest management and forms the keys tenets of Agenda 21 and the Millenium Development Goal.what is novel about the project is highlighted benefit of bee keeping as alternative livelihood. That is more income with minimal or no destruction of biodivesity
The project has significantly contributed toward restoration of the Mau complex. Report from government ministries are showing increased level of water in lake Baringo and Nakuru. All these is attributed to restoration of Mau Complex.
24. What is the significance of this project for the region? How important are its results for its particular project category? Character count 250 words.: 
The mau catchment where the project is based is one of the water towers for the Eastern Africa and some parts of North Africa including Egypt. Beekeeping is used as a strategy not only for sustainability of huma livelihood but enhance the and preservae the einvironmental quallity in the long run. It is build on the premise that beekeeping can be easily intergrated in forest management and the resultant effect is better forest management pratcies that protects the water towers and ensures the continouos supply of ecosystems goods and services for the human population.
cosedquently, the economical, historical and educational roles that the complex play in national and regional development sector cannnot be ignored. the use of beekeeping project in concesrving goes along way in ensuring regional economic stability.
Region: 
Africa and Middle East