Fiji Beekeepers Association is looking for skilled beekeepers who are willing to mentor less experienced beekeepers for a one-year period beginning in January.
Mentors will work side-by-side with their trainee(s) and teach them essential beekeeping skills.
Teaching experience is not required. FBA is also looking for beginning beekeepers who are interested in receiving beekeeping mentoring.
The ideal mentor has six or more years of beekeeping experience and more than 20 hives.
The ideal trainee has less than 6 years beekeeping experience and owns less than 20 hives.
This program is intended to strengthen the skills of beginning beekeepers but does NOT start new beekeepers who do not already own hives, bee suit and tools.
This program is open to all Fijian beekeepers.
FBA has enough funding for approximately 30 mentoring assignments.
In the selection process, preference will be given to mentors and trainees who apply together, so FBA does not need to pair mentor and trainee.
Preference will also be given to people in under-represented groups, such as women and youth.
Successful mentors in this year’s program may apply to mentor again in 2022 with either the same or new trainees.
How The Program Works
Mentors and trainees sign a mentoring agreement with FBA describing specific beekeeping skills to be taught during 6 or more apiary mentoring visits in 2022.
Skills include hive inspections, management for honey production, harvesting, basic colony splitting, and disease and parasite control.
Mentors are not paid.
However, FBA will provide mentors with 10 unassembled boxes, with frames and foundation, for each mentoring assignment and trainees parts for 5 boxes with frames and foundation for the teaching/learning hive assembly and colony splitting. A mentor may mentor one or two trainees.
FBA’s Mentor program was established in 2016 and has been internationally recognized as a successful model for improving beekeeper success.
FBA’s 2022 Mentor Program Funding
FBA’s 2022 Mentor Program is funded by the European Union through a project named Farmer Organizations for Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific ( #FO4ACP ) that is coordinated in Fiji by PIFON.
Technical support and monitoring of the program will be assisted by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
Fijian beekeepers interested in being a mentor or a trainee should request a simple one-page application form by sending an email to John Caldeira at [email protected].
Applications must be submitted by Sunday, December 12 , 2021.
