At the Club's September 15 meeting, Terrace's own Rudi Peters of Skeena Valley Apiary spoke to the club about the Bee World Project in the Hazeltons. The community was chosen because of its depressed economy and its flower source, fireweed. Each of the 10 participants received a microloan that they have a year to pay back, and in exchange they got 5 one-brood box hives, which were full of (angry!) bees, and commercial grade equipment to extract the honey. Rudi shared some fast facts about the project and bees in general:
- A couple of beehives in a community can cause an 8-fold increase in food production
- Fireweed honey is known as the "champagne" of honey and can fetch big bucks in Vancouver
- Whether it be in third world countries or right here at home, women make up the majority of the participants in the Bee World programs.
