Only One Knife

Do you wonder what it was like to live in Uganda for 5 weeks with 2 different families? I will tell you of my experience, and please remember that Uganda is a big place and so is Africa; my experience is not representative of an entire country or continent.

Boda-bodas parked in Kampala

I stayed in Mukono for most of my time in Uganda, and this is an eastern suburb of Kampala and on the road to Kenya.  The road is paved wide enough for 2 cars and there is a dirt shoulder wide enough for another 1 ½ cars on either side. The road between the airport (Entebe) and Kampala and between Kampala and Mukono is very busy at certain times and I experienced all kinds of traffic. My hosts were very courteous (and courageous) drivers and I witnessed (and was in) taxi vans passing traffic on the shoulder of the road and taxi motorcycles (called boda-bodas) freely wove between stopped vehicles. Walking street vendors sold things like car accessories, drinks, snacks, newspapers, and toilet paper as they walked between vehicles stopped in traffic!

I saw people walking everywhere I went in Uganda and I would guess that this is the most often used mode of transport, although taxi vans and cars have routes on the major roads and the fee for long distance transport seem to be reasonable.

The other place I stayed was in Nakasongola and this was a more rural location where I observed the most varied conditions of living.

Many of you will be surprised to learn that I have a culinary background and 2 things that my first Chefs used to say echoed in my head during this trip. The first was, “Get used to your chef knife because it may be the only knife you have in the kitchen.”

Cooking on a charcoal stove

 Well this turned out to be true in Uganda on more than one occasion. And the same kitchen knife was also used as a hive tool! There were no cutting boards, and the general way of cutting was to hold food in one hand and cut it with the other. I observed one lady shaving cabbage as thin as a machine could and doing it quite quickly.  That brought to mind the other saying I remembered, “Only pilots work in the air.” Well, this is obviously not true as these folks know how to use the tools and work spaces they have to get the job done.

Our food storage area in Nakasongola,
along with the 'emergency' kerosene stove

Most of the cooking was done outdoors with charcoal and having a charcoal stove is the best way to get the most efficient heat. Not everyone can afford charcoal (or a stove); some people cut down trees, use scavenged wood or other burnable items for their fire. Farming is done with water that falls from the sky in the wet season and I did not observe a lot of collection of rainfall for household or farming use. I read an agricultural article in the local paper discussing the ways for farmers to collect and store water because rainfall is not falling as abundantly as it used to. People (mostly children) pump their water from the nearest well into 3-5 gallon containers and carry them home when they do not have access to any other water. There is piped water in quite a few places, but also many places still do not have electricity or a close water source.

Bricks after they have been fired

Many houses are made of bricks, and the bricks are made from the local soil. Wood is expensive, although I did observe tree farms. Some brick houses are finished with stucco, and most have a galvanized roof. There are also houses made of mud, and these mostly have the traditional grass roof. Traditional houses of wood, mud and thatch are quite durable and last 8-9 years.

I saw solar panels for sale and in use. If you don’t have electricity, you can pay a fee and a person will charge your cell phone, lap top or other electronic device. Our house in Nakasongola was about ¼ mile from the electricity line and this is what we did. 

Mud hut with grass roof

In remote areas, these places had solar panels as their electricity source. And some residences had panels too: It makes you look twice when you see a solar panel on top of a mud and grass hut!

I found beauty everywhere, and was fortunate to go to several local and National tourist spots. I will leave you with a few pictures from Ssezibwa  Falls, which is in Mukono and the first place I went for a short hike and relaxing afternoon. 

Next time I will describe more places and show you more pictures of life in Uganda. There are so many things I experienced, I am excited to share them with you!

Dry Season - Hive Management

Hive management during the dry season

Uganda has two rain seasons and two dry seasons in a year. The first dry season start in late December to late March and again from late June to early September. The rain seasons are March to June and September to early December. These seasons suits Nakasongola very well and it is known as a dry area compared to other areas in central Uganda. It is also known as a cattle corridor due to presence of cattle keepers on a small scale and they keep local breeds which take long to mature and produce very little milk (1/2 litre a day).

During the dry season, the entire bush will dry completely. Before the government passed a law against random burning of bushes by community members, people used to set fires on the bush especially the hunters. The whole of Nakasongola would burn in 2 weeks and leave the ground bare. This could kill a lot of living things including small animals, insects and on rear occasions people.  But since 1998, bush burning became minimal and there are parts which have never been burnt again since then.

Hives are installed under tree shades to avoid heat from the sun from burning wax and inconveniencing the bees, and when the trees shade off the leaves during the dry season, the beekeepers cover hives with dry grass.

This is what happens during the dry season;

The worst dry season is December to March. The weather is too hot during day and the sun shines from morning to evening without stopping since the sky is always clear – no clouds until in the last few weeks before the rains start usually in April.

Bees cannot find enough flowers apart from flowers on banana plants and mango trees plus a very few wild plants that flower a few weeks before rainfall begins. Therefore during this time of the year, bees go into shops to collect cassava and soya flour. Bees also collect water from sunrise upto sunset and the working hours are extended too; bees begin moving at around 5:50am (during the dry season, the morning brightness starts early) and stop flying at around 7:45pm.

During the dry season, many trees drop their leaves and weeds die. Many water ponds dry up and swamps dry out too.

The beekeeper will never open his or her hives since they are vulnerable to absconding and in the real sense the bees never have honey and brood during the dry season therefore any slight disturbance to the bees, they just abscond.

Beekeepers provide water and cassava flour to their bees on a daily basis until the end of the season.

Beekeepers don’t provide sugar syrup to their bees and to your surprise, bees never abscond unless disturbed.

A lot of bees are seen at the entrances of the beehives during the dry season compared to rain season.

The bush near hives is cleared to avoid wild fires from burning the hives in case it breaks up.

However during the rainy season, the rate of absconding is higher compared to dry season because when the hive is leaking, the bees abandon it, when the hive location is damp, the bees leave it and I have never seen bees build in an open space such as on a branch of a tree like they would do in Europe or US. But they could nest in ground if they found a hole!

Beekeeping in Uganda is naturally managed. Therefore honey produced is organic!

Bees fly out of the hives everyday unless when rain falls during daytime and usually when it stops, and sun comes back, the bees resume flying until dark.

Installation of Hives

Distribution patterns of hives

Beekeeping in Wampiti is so much fun than anyway you think! Beekeeping is practiced on a free system where the local councils and the district authority are not bothered. Beekeeping is almost practiced in every home especially in Wampiti and neigbouring villages as well as other parts of Nakasongola.

Well, most people in Nakasongola villages have land which is between 2 acres to 50 acres, and surprisingly there is no serious farming activities on the big pieces of land. Trees are cut down [today people are cutting the fourth generation] for charcoal burning which is sold [still for very little money which doesn’t cover all their needs and can’t make them rich].

Others keep and graze cattle on their land on a free and open grazing system whereby cattle must walk around the bushes to graze during day time and they are locked in a confined place during night hours. During day (grazing hours) there is at least one person supervising grazing cattle – to stop them from going into farming areas.

When members have big land, they install their hives in w pattern which suits their needs. For example, a member with 20 acres of land, can use 2 or 3 acres for house, compound and growing crops ; and leave the rest of the land untouched and this is where he installs his beehives. The hives are spaced in a manner where one hive can be 50 – 100 metres away from the other. People believed that when hives are installed too close to each other, the bees can easily attack the owner during harvesting. People were also using hives to mark boundaries of their land. They also believed that when hives are installed randomly would reduce on competition over nectar. Log hives are commonly installed between branches of trees therefore it is not possible to find one tree with many branches which can hang many hives.

 Lastly since hives are installed under shades, people would install hives in different spots because of the presence of shades.

This kind of hive spacing has had a lot of challenges such as;

Cleaning the apiary is not easily done

Bush fires would easily burn the hives since most hives are surrounded by the bush

Control of black ants is impossible.

Grazing cows could easily walk into the beekeeping zone and this could trigger bees to sting and when cows are washed with acaricide would irritate bees and abscond.

Fortunately, when WBA started, members were taught the benefits of keeping bee hives in one spot; many beekeepers brought their hives closer to each other (in distances of 5-10metres away from each other). This has made fencing of apiaries possible with people who want. It also eased supervision as well as pest control such as termites and black ants which are not possible to control when the apiary is stretched out.

Establish Bee Forage

Bee Forage Plants
The Wampiti Beekeepers Association has over 80 members from different parts of Nakasongola and this is the smallest fraction of beekeepers in Nakasongola District. Most members are above 40 years of age and have families they take care of. Women are more active in the group and focused compared to men. Youths are fewer compared to the number of men and women in WBA.

Currently, the total number of hives possessed by WBA is over 1300 hives and 90% are log hives.
Beekeeping is facing a challenge today particularly in Nakasongola due to limited bee forage plants, some of which is caused by charcoal burning. Most people in Nakasongola depend on tree cutting to produce charcoal which they sell to earn money. Charcoal burning became a serious activity in Nakasongola in early 1990s but this has left many places with no trees. This is due to lack of sensitization by the government to the local people.

Nakasongola was once a hardwood producing area unlike today where it is known for best quality charcoal.
The change is very unfortunate because the best nectar producing plant, can take between 10 to 15 years before flowering stage. These plants are the best charcoal producing trees.
Beekeepers in Wampiti and other communities in Nakasongola were united by WBA to develop commercial beekeeping in order to increase on their income. This attracted many people and since a lot of skills and knowledge have been acquired over the past years, beekeeping became so serious that now the resources [nectar] have become insufficient.

Orange plants

A productive mango tree in Wampiti

A productive orange plant

Farming in Nakasongola is on a small scale therefore crops provide limited flowers; many families grow little and sometimes not enough for their family.

Last year 2015, the general assembly raised a concern on limited bee forage plants and the following solutions were proposed: Beekeepers should identify the bee forage plants which grow in their farm and protect the existing bee forage plants by fencing off the area where possible.

The above solutions were put into practice straight away by the beekeepers and friends who are non-members of WBA. Most beekeepers installed hives in the areas with bee foraging plants in order to save the trees from being cut down. Some beekeepers fenced off the areas.

A flowering moringa tree

Members are also growing local varieties of oranges and mangoes which are hard to bring up from seedlings and take long to reach flowering stages [between 7 to 9 years]. Orange and mango plants would benefit members twice since they provide nectar to bees and thereafter give fruits to growers who would sell it and earn more.


Beekeepers have also tried to plant trees such as Moringa which grow fast and reach flowering stage early.
The core objective of founding Wampiti Beekeepers Association was to release tree cutting pressure through creating income generating activities via beekeeping and installing hives in forests which acts as a buffer.

Amidst the campaign of establishing and maintaining bee forage plants, the following challenges have been encountered:
1. The best nectar producing plants take between 10 to 15 years before reaching flowering stage.
2. The local varieties of Mango and Orange plants also take between 5 to 7 years before they start flowering.
3. Improved and grafted varieties of orange and mango plants which reach flowering stage at 2 years are available at $3 each plant and members can’t afford it though the cost reduces when bought in bulk from the tree nurseries.

Therefore, more guidance and advice is needed to impact the establishment of bee forage plants to give smiles to bees and honey lovers.

Beekeeping Pests in Uganda

Common Pests in Wampiti - Nakasongola

Small waxmoth

Damage caused by large wax moth

Mouse

Mammals, reptiles, and birds: There are a wide variety of pests and predators (besides infectious microorganisms) known to attack adult honeybees, bee brood in all stages, materials stored in the hive and even the hive itself. Some of these organisms may simply use the hive as a place to live or as a shelter for their own young; but some may cause harm by feeding on honey, pollen, brood remains or beeswax. Almost all hives are attacked by the pests but the severity of the pest attack varies from hive to hive and from apiary to apiary. We have found that traditional log hives are less attacked by the wax moth and black ants compared to top bar hives. 

Below is a discussion of pests which affect bees, specifically in WBA communities.

Blank ants

Black ants are one number one honeybee pests causing economic losses to beekeepers. They suck out the honey and kill the pupae and eggs. They are too small to be stopped by beehive guards and in many cases make the bees leave the hive. They nest on top bars between the bars and the cover or in one corner inside the hive. Their pupa messes up honey during harvesting therefore the beekeeper should be careful which working.

Small brown and black beetles

Large beetle

The large hive beetle (Oplostomus fuligineus) (20mm long) and the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) are common pests. They cause damage to combs and setup fermentation of stored honey. Both types of hive beetles eat pollen and honey, but the Oplostomus species also eats brood. Bees can be seen trying to remove Aethina but its hard slippery carapale makes it impossible to grasp. Aethina lays eggs on occupied combs and in cracks and crevices. 

Large waxmoth

The greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) and the lesser wax moth (Achroia grisella) are opportunistic pests and will quickly lay eggs on older, abandoned honey combs where a weak colony is in residence. Both types of wax moths are generally found wherever there are honey bees and particularly in warm conditions. In the wild, the wax moth plays a part in completely destroying old, useless combs and bees will eventually reoccupy the clean nesting site and build new combs. Bees in a strong colony are able to remove small wax moth larvae from the hive. Strong colonies are therefore the best defense against infestation of wax moth. When the moths do succeed in gaining entry to a beehive they lay their eggs on the combs and in cracks in the hive body. The wax moth larvae burrow their way through the wax leaving trails of silken tunnels and black fecal droppings. Their preferred food is found in old brood combs where they eat the pupae cases in the brood cells. The growing larvae become more voracious until the comb is destroyed and all the remains are a mass of silken webbing and feces. The mature larvae of the both wax moth cause great damage to wooden bars and hive bodies. They curve out depressions in the wood, settle into the depressions and spin their final cocoons. The hive bodies and bars become weak which makes them weak and useless. These bars are difficult to clean! 

Birds feed on the bees especially those that forage for nectar. These birds strategically position themselves near the hives and capture the bees that are flying out or into the hive. This greatly reduces the population of the bees in the hives, resulting in reduction of production in the hives.   But this is not so much a big problem compared to black ants and termites in Nakasongola since some bee-eater species are becoming extinct. 

Top bar hive damaged by termites

The termites feed on the equipment used in beekeeping especially those made out of wood, for example the beehives. The termites do not eat the honey or the bees themselves, but they are agents of bio-degradation of wood since many of the beehives are made typically of wood. Hives placed on the ground or bee equipment left lying on the ground or stacked directly on the ground may be subject to termite infestation. Termites destroy the bodies of the hive, and build piles of soil in the hive which inconveniences the bees and eventually abscond. The hive may also collapse and drop to the ground after being eaten by the termites.