Angola: Empowering women through honey.

Mavilde de Assuncao Alves has been a beekeeper for almost 15 years. Every week she sets up a table to sell honey on the main road or at the local market in Bailundo, a town in Angola's central Huambo province.

'I have many customers,' she says with a smile, although she admits that the work is challenging.

Like most beekeepers in Angola, Ms. Alves walks many kilometres to tend to her hives dotted across the hilly landscape of her 45 hectares of farmland, where she also grows corn, beans, potatoes and other crops.

Each hive, made by hollowing out tree trunks, produces six to eight kilos of honey, which she collects by using smoke to calm and distract the bees while she gathers their honey in a bowl.

Some of it is enjoyed by her family while the rest is sold to help make ends meet in one of the county's poorest provinces.

Over the years, the 57-year-old has struggled to maintain the hives, which have dwindled from 15 to eight. Working without protective equipment, she's often stung and now suffers from joint inflammation and pain.

But after attending a training workshop organized by UNCTAD and the Universidade Jose Eduardo dos Santos, she's more confident about the future.

A traditional beehive in Bailundo, Angola.

Ovimbundu Filmes

A green sector that can empower women

Ms. Alves is one of seven women trained through an UNCTAD project that is working with the government, researchers, farmers and businesses to harness the untapped potential of honey in the country.

The project is a component of a European Union-funded programme to support Angola's efforts to diversify its oil-driven economy. According to recent estimates, oil accounts for more than 90% of the country's exports.

A study conducted by UNCTAD and national stakeholders identified honey as a promising 'green' product that could help diversify exports while minimizing environmental impacts and creating new economic opportunities in rural communities.

Although Angola only produces around 90 tons of honey a year, UNCTAD estimates show this could increase to 200 tonnes with improved production methods.

A training participant inspects a beehive.

Ovimbundu Filmes

A training participant with freshly harvested honeycomb.

Ovimbundu Filmes

'Angola is a country with great potential to produce high-quality honey,' says Teresa Moreira, officer-in-charge of UNCTAD's international trade division.

'The country has a diverse range of flora, including several species of flowering plants that provide...