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The proceeds of the Belgian Embassy's honey sales and the funds raised at the .befair, are donated to the NGO Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers to help them support Ukrainian beekeepers and their families. In 2022 the Brotherhood started up the "Help on Bee Wings" project. Beekeeping is often the only source of income in Ukraine, so when hives were destroyed in the war or beekeepers left their hives behind to go defend their country, the Brotherhood decided to step in.
The Help on Bee Wings project set out to provide beehives and beekeeping equipment, as well as colonies to populate the new hives, as a way to start rebuilding what the war had destroyed. Our Embassy is glad to help out.
We were very proud and grateful that we could contribute to 36 full bee colonies being donated to Ukrainian beekeepers. As a result they had the means to start making a normal living again.
Beekeepers in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, who lost their homes and apiaries received assistance through the project and were able to relocate and resume business in the spring of 2023.
The proceeds of this year's .befair will again contribute to the efforts to help beekeepers rebuild their businesses a
From Mrs. Tetyana Vasylkivska, Chairman of the Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers and Director of the Help on Bee Wings project:
The non-governmental organization Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers initiated the Program implemented by the Charitable organization “Charitable Foundation “Help on Bee Wings” with the same name, " Help on Bee Wings ". It is designed to help beekeepers restore apiaries that have been lost or destroyed due to military aggression of the russian federation. The Program is successful owing to the donations of the people who care. It is a great honor for the Program to have such a partner as the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Canberra. It is even a greater honor for the Program to have attracted personal attention of Ambassador Michel Goffin.
For Ukrainian beekeepers, assistance from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Canberra in 2022 was truly a miracle. The bee colonies purchased with the help of the Embassy made the affected beekeepers happy. They took these bees as a great hope for the full recovery of apiaries, and as the opportunity to get joy and profit when working with bees, in order to survive and build a new life after the disaster, whether under the foreign occupation or under the constant enemy shelling.
Please, find below some stories about our beekeepers who participated in the Help on Bee Wings Program and received help from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Canberra:
Serhii Zadniprovskyi (Velyka Komyshuvakha village - Barvinkove territorial community, Izyum district, Kharkiv region)
In peacetime, a beekeeper from Kharkiv region Serhiy Zadniprovsky kept an apiary of 70 bee colonies. He has bee farming since 1987. On his farm, Serhiy had a honey machine, the necessary tools, and the honey barrels. The apiary was nomadic and was transported on special platforms. During the year, Serhiy produced up to 4 tons of honey. As soon as on March 9, 2022, two weeks after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, Serhiy and his family had to leave his home village of Velyka Komyshuvakha in Kharkiv region. Since April, the village had been occupied, and liberated from the enemies only in September. The village was obliterated. Serhiy's house and apiary were destroyed, burned to the ground. Serhiy and his wife are now displaced persons. They found shelter in the village of Savchyne in Vinnytsia region. The village is located far from big cities, in the agricultural area, where farmers grow sunflower and canola. The village has a lot of linden and acacia trees, many fruit plantations and broad expanses of meadow flowers. For bees, it is a great place to grow, and gather nectar. For Serhiy and his wife, the place has become a new location to build a new life. But the Zadnipryansky family had to face more sadness and grief. Evil chance came again, when their son, a first responder serving in the National Emergency Service, was killed in the line of duty. On November 11, 2022, he was blown off on a land mine. His name was Serhiy, too. Like his father, he was also fond of bee farming.
This tragedy did not break Serhiy down. With his wife, they were grateful to accept the help from the Help on Bee Wings Program: 12 bee colonies, thanks to the help of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Canberra, 25 hives, the tools, a honey machine, and veterinary drugs, thanks to the help of a Japanese company Yamada Bee Farm and a ROMAPIS (Federatia Asociatiilor Apicole din Romania).
That is how we all brought our efforts together to help the Zadniprovsky family. We wish them to successfully recover the apiary. In addition, we will continue to help, whenever possible.
You can see more pictures and videos here
Oleksandr Bochenko (Novomayorske village , Stary Mlyn rural community, Volnovakha district, Donetsk region ).
Before the war, a beekeeper from Donetsk region, Oleksandr Bochenko, kept an apiary of 100 bee colonies. Oleksandr began to engage in beekeeping in 2007. The apiary focused on honey production. The bees brought to the farmer enough honey so that Oleksandr could support his family. Oleksandr's farm had a honey machine and all the necessary equipment. For the new season, he had prepared several thousand new frames. The business ran smooth. However, the war made Oleksandr's family evacuate from the village, and abandon the apiary. Ongoing shelling, occupation, and total destruction of the village. The Bochenko family found shelter in the Vinnytsia region, in Ladyzhyn town. He decided to resume the bee farm in a new place, in the countryside, near the town of Ladyzhyn. Oleksandr also received the support from the Help on Bee Wings Program. He was provided with a full package: 12 bee colonies, thanks to the help of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Canberra, 25 hives, tools, a honey machine, and veterinary drugs, thanks to the help of a Japanese company Yamada Bee Farm and a ROMAPIS (Federatia Asociatiilor Apicole din Romania).
You can see more pictures here
photos courtesy of Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers
Vitaliy Burian (Lyman town, Lyman municipal community, Kramatorsk district, Donetsk region)
Vitaly Burian used to live in the Donetsk region and kept a bee farm, which was famous before the war for its magnificent steppe fragrant honey. The farm had 55 bee colonies. In May 2022, during the offensive of the Russian invaders, the apiary suffered significant destruction. Some of the beehives were burned, some were scattered around from enemy shelling, some were just stolen during the occupation. The entire farm was destroyed, along with the workshop with 35 new hives, 2,600 new frames, the tools, a honey machine, honey containers, a cabinet for pollen drying, and other necessary equipment for the operations of the of the apiary.
Vitaly was hosted in a new community, in the town of Zhashkiv, Cherkasy region, and started building a new bee farm. Vitaly was provided with assistance from the Help on Bee Wings Program: 12 bee colonies, thanks to the help of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Canberra, 25 hives, tools, honey machine, and veterinary drugs, thanks to the help of a Japanese company Yamada Bee Farm and a ROMAPIS (Federatia Asociatiilor Apicole din Romania).
You can see more pictures and videos here
We have hundreds of other stories about beekeepers who need our joint help. The "Register of destroyed apiaries due to military aggression of the Russian Federation", which we started and have been keeping in our organization “Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers”, receives information from beekeepers about lost apiaries almost every day. We take record of everything. However, it is hard to help them all. That is why we are trying to provide assistance primarily to those who have relocated to safer areas and are beginning to restore the apiaries almost from scratch. Because the love for bees stayed; because it is necessary to work and provide for your family… because bees are needed for the ecological recovery of Ukraine after the war…
photos courtesy of Brotherhood of Ukrainian Beekeepers
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