Plan Bee from Gilgit-Baltistan wins the world competition
by: Zulfiqar Ali Khan
Hunza, December 25: The Pakistani Project Plan Bee from Gilgit-Baltistan has won the BBC World Challenge 08 by beating ten projects from India, Brazil, Kenya and other developing countries. The Plan Bee project, established by Hashoo foundation enables honeybee farmers to earn more than twice the price they would in the local market, while making the most of their skills and environment without placing pressure on the local ecosystem.
The project has received $20,000 to invest back into the Plan Bee project. The two runners up, Agricultural School (Paraguay) and Shanti Sewa Griha (Nepal) each received a grant of USD $10,000 to help with income generating opportunities for their projects. The Awards ceremony was held in The Hague, where a representative from each project received their awards.
The World Challenge 08 is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. The competition is organised by BBC World News and Newsweek, in association with Shell.
The honey bee farmers from Hunza have regarded this as a success of the efforts of AKRSP who organised and developed the capacities of local communities in honey bee keeping. They expressed their hope that Hashoo foundation will expand their activities to make real impact in the lives of the women in the region.
