Date:10/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/10/stories/2008111058830300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Training in bee-keeping to be held for unemployed youth from today

R. Sairam

Chathirapatti and nearby areas found to be ideal for this income-generating vocation

Apiculture will bring additional income to villagers
Members from other States to come on exposure visit

MADURAI: The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is organising a week-long training in Apiculture (bee keeping) for members of a non-governmental organisation here from Monday.

“The training will be imparted to 20 members of Centre for Experiencing Socio-Cultural Interaction (CESCI), which is working among local unemployed women and youth,” Divisional Director of Madurai Region M.T. Wakode told The Hindu here.

The sessions would be held at Chathirapatti. That locality and the nearby areas have the potential for bee-keeping activities. Even if the areas near the trainee’s homes did not have the potential, he said, they could always migrate and ply the trade elsewhere.

Field staff from the Madurai region would train the members. They will be given practical demonstrations and theory classes in various aspects of rearing honey bees.

This would be an additional source to earn more income for them. They were now mainly engaged in traditional activities such as farming, said Mr. Wakode.

A nominal stipend would be given to all trainees, who would be given certificate upon completion of training. If they were interested in becoming entrepreneurs, they would be absorbed under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation programme.

Under this scheme, he said, technical and financial assistance would be extended.

If the response was good, the training programme would be extended to more aspirants.

Exposure visit

The KVIC’S Directorate of Forest-based Industries, Mumbai, has organised an exposure visit to Tamil Nadu in bee-keeping activities for members from other States. The KVIC would take care of all expenses from travel to accommodation.

“In the initial phase, 25 members from Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh will arrive on December 14. They would be taken to Kanyakumari and other places. In the second phase, members from Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana would arrive on a subsequent date,” he said.