Betty July is a young entrepreneur engaged in a honey business in Yei.  Her story is one of endurance and beating the odds to not only put food on the table, but also prove that a woman is capable of running a business. 

Sharing her experience with the UN Radio, Betty says her interest in bee farming dates back to her early years when her father used to take her along to the family hives.

“Harvesting honey with my father was a bonding experience with fond memories of folk tales and stories of the family’s history in honey production,” she says, adding that the bonding experience was the biggest inspiration to start ‘Betty Bees’ honey business. 

What started out in 2012 as a family business with three rudimentary hives in Mugwo, County of Yei, has now grown to more than 10 hives.

“We used to harvest the honey for family consumption and to share with friends, before we decided to produce more,” Betty explained. 

The 35 year old graduate of Social Sciences speaks passionately about her business saying, “I am a friend of bees… in as much as they sting, what comes out of them is very sweet,” adding that her best times are when she visits her hives.

She explains that the curative properties in soothing coughs and allergies attracted her to the business even more saying “my parents gave us honey for treating cough, flu and I remember how it used to keep me warm in the cold.”

Betty suggests more attention be paid to bee farming, saying “it has the potential to contribute to the economy through employment and revenue, at the same time boost food security, ” explaining that there are no storage complications because of its long shelf life and preservative properties.

She adds that the genesis of her motivation goes beyond family nurturing, to an urge to share the produce, saying “every time I tasted the honey on the market, it couldn’t compare to what I got from home,” adding that “I wanted the people to taste the delicious produce from Mugwo.”

“When I started Betty Bees, people wondered why I was interested in honey production, because it was a man’s thing” so I thought it was also an opportunity for me to break stereotypes and prove that I do not only have to “serve my husband the honey at home.”

Betty explains that the traditional hives for the Kakwa community in Mugwo are made from the trunk of a coconut tree; hollowed out and filled with mud and tied to tree branches for the bees to build their combs.

She says the hives need to be placed near a water source because the busy bees get “thirsty” and would need constant replenishment to keep their production levels up. 

Betty Bees is now a fully-fledged commercial venture, with a production capacity of 5 tonnes per year.  Produce from the honey combs goes to hotels, shops and restaurants in Yei and Juba. 

Betty chokes as she explains how her carefully built enterprise was destroyed during the fighting in July.  Her equipment was looted and she was forced to suspend operations and transfer the little equipment she managed to salvage to Juba. 

Despite the challenges, she is determined to push on and resume full production when the security situation allows.