Since the very beginning, we have always believed in supporting people’s visions and plans to spark and sustain change. Recently, we have been working with Namuli’s beekeepers to create visions and goals for the future of their beehives. Through open conversations with beekeepers, we are mapping and illustrating current assets, future plans, and the resources they needed to achieve each of their visions.

Dona Juliana’s apiary is located on the soil of her grandmother’s old cassava farm on a slope surrounded by neighboring machambas.

As she tells us more about the history of the place, and the main threats to her bees, such as where wind and fire come from, we grab a white sheet of paper and start drawing. Dona Juliana vision is a colorful one, and includes yellow acacias located at the four corners of the apiary, as well as a line of fruit trees to act as a natural barrier against the wind.

Her late husband knew many varieties of local mountain plants, and so she adds a local variety of aloe vera as a fire breaker in his honor.

As we work together, it becomes clear that her focus is on the role of bees in pollination and the importance of providing them with pollen sources, and protecting those sources from wildfires that plague the area every fall.