Guiding Hope - an innovative, small and sustainable Cameroonian business got international recognition and encouragement on 4 December 2008 as the US Ambassador Janet Garvey hosted the 5th annual global SEED Award at the US Embassy in Yaoundé. She was joined by representatives from partners UNDP, UNEP, and IUCN – and a wide range of forward looking organizations who are convinced – and have proved- that entrepreneurial initiatives have the potential to become engines of sustainable growth.

Honey harvesting has long been a traditional activity in Cameroon, with the majority of honey coming from forests – each ecological zone creating unique characteristics; dark brown thick honey from Adamoua, thick creamy white honey from Oku and golden honey from the Highlands. Many people however do not realize that other hive products made by bees such as wax and propolis, and the goods that can be made from them, such as candles, soaps, beauty creams and household products like shoe creams and furniture waxes – can also provide attractive incomes and promote conservation of these fragile and often uniquely biodiverse savannah and mountain forests.

GIG Guide d’Espoir, in English ‘Guiding Hope’ – started working 2 years ago with seven communities around Ngoundal and in groups in Oku to improve the quality of their honey, package and sell it across Cameroon and eventually internationally, to increase wax and propolis processing and export, and to become certified as ‘organic’ and fair trade, and to pay good, fair prices. They are developing a labelling, packaging and marketing strategy for the Cameroonian market and sub-regional Central African market; opening warehouses in Yaoundé and Ngoundal; and training sellers in major cities in Cameroon. Guiding hope is currently piloting schemes to diversify products and income and add value locally by transforming wax and honey into soap, candles and beauty creams for Cameroonian and export markets by the end of 2009. Combined with this they are looking at minimising their environmental ‘footprint’ with schemes to reduce the wood used to melt wax, tree planting schemes and environmental awareness training.

The SEED Award does not carry a money prize. Instead, Guiding Hope will receives a 12 month package of support services tailored to its needs, to strengthen and scale up these activities.

Partners
None of this would be possible without partners, and Guiding Hope has invested in linking up with a range of organisations, who include;
• PAELLA-E – Programme d’Appui aux Initiatives Locales d’Auto Emploi - a Cameroonian NGO supporting advocacy for the apiculture sector and capacity building.
• SNV – Netherlands Development Organisation – an international NGO active in capacity building in Cameroon honey sector for over 2 years www.snvworld.org
• Cameroonian Union of Apiculture Exporters of which Guiding Hope is a founding member u.mielcameroun@yahoo.fr
• Tropical Forest Products Ltd is an UK based importer, honey packer and wholesaler of bee products. www.tropicalforest.com
• United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation to defeat hunger, promoting sustainable food security, raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity and contribute to economic growth, who are supporting small enterprises working in non wood forest products www.fao.org
• Djerem Union of Natural Honey Producers – UGIPROMNAD is a Union of 18 producer groups, with whom Guiding Hope works – particularly with 7 villages around Ngoundal, Adamoua and with the Oku Honey Cooperative in the North West.
• British Wax an international wax refining business, which recently obtained accreditation for processing of organic wax. www.britishwax.com
• Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA) - Cameroon is responsible for apiculture and is currently working closely with the Cameroonian Union of Apiculture Exporters to set up export standards for honey to the European Union.