A Murang’a teacher who also practices bee keeping in Kiria-ini area of Murang’a County is thriving in his apiculture venture.
Paul Njuki, 58 years old, divulged that ever since he was a little boy, he has been passionate about bee keeping and therefore while growing up, he knew he would venture into it.
“Besides being a teacher by profession, I also practice bee keeping” said Njuki, adding that his passion in apiculture stemmed from his late father who was an expert at bee keeping.
According to Njuki, he acquired this bee keeping skill from his late father who was a highly experienced bee keeper, who made a living out of it and got to educate him and his siblings from the income he made from selling honey.
“Whenever my father went to harvest honey from the bee hives, he kept, he would bring along my brothers and I, and taught us more about bee keeping,” said Njuki.
Njuki observed that currently many people struggle living in economically tough times and depending solely on one source of income to sustain their family to have a comfortable life.
“I cannot depend solely on the salary I earn from being a teacher and therefore beekeeping has helped me in having an alternate source of income from the sale of honey,” he said.
Njuri narrated that when he started his beekeeping practice ten years ago, he only needed a little capital since he had the expertise of setting-up the bee hives by himself without help and the money he used, paid back after a short while.
“I built my beehives by myself and I only need money to buy materials such as wood and nails,” he recalled.
Njuri sells a bottle of 250ml of honey for Sh250 and he sells approximately fifty jars per month.
He admits that just like any other business, beekeeping has its challenges and for him bee eater birds have over the years interfered with his venture.
“I started beekeeping 10 years ago and bee eaters have over the years harm the bees by eating them while others flee out of their beehives causing reduction of bees,” Njuki said.
Njuki said that as he is about to retire, he will invest highly on bee keeping and build more bee hives as he has many clients that depend on him.
He urges the government to offer training to the youth and people who want to learn more about beekeeping, as it is one of the best ventures he has come across.