We collaborated with Namuna Technical Education Academy, Ajirjot, Gorkha to provide 12 days long beekeeping training from March 15-27 to residents from 4 villages: Opun, Sisne, Olang, and Khimpu. The training was provided to 80 residents, which mostly comprised of women. All the trainees lacked formal training, which led to inefficient honey production in the regions. The eekeepers faced barriers like the migration and death of bees, and the production of poor-quality honey.

Following the training, we distributed beehives, protective gears, beehive stand, and other supplies to 40 previously trained beekeepers on April 20, 2022. Our team visited selected beneficiaries on April 23- 24 to monitor the project and speak to families about their experiences. We are delighted that the few families we visited had a positive experience with the overall project and some constructive feedback. This small-scale project constitutes our pilot project ‘Paul Farmer Project’ dedicated to the late Dr. Paul

Farmer, who was a champion of health and socioeconomic equity. Over the next year, we will closely monitor the benefits and barriers to this project. As we gather evidence, we will make necessary revisions to our working model and expand the project to a larger number of families. Our goal is to develop a sustainable honey enterprise with stable, good-quality honey production and a defined market. Eventually, we hope to empower women and promote socio-economic development through this project.