RECOMMENDED FEASIBILITY STUDY: “FOREST HONEY” PROJECT

INTEGRATED WITH THE CURRENT EW-EVC COFFEE PROJECT

NAME: Brian M Touray

CONSULTANT: Value Chain Advisor

DATE: 24 April 2020

I have gone through the documents uploaded on G-Drive by Elizabeth “Supporting Women’s
Economic Empowerment through Climate Smart Coffee” & “Climate Smart Coffee in
DakCheung (PPT)” and there is no doubt it could benefit the target population (new or existing
beneficiaries), and also enhance and add value to the coffee beans as a result of the positive ecological
benefits. I briefly spoke with Elizabeth about this when she told me about it last year but spoke in length
with Tanya and Bounna, then agreed that the environment in Dakcheung may be suitable for bee
keeping. Nonetheless, it will not be a “cut and dry” project/activity, because it would require conducting
(preliminary research) a feasibility study to unveil factors that may or may not have some implications.

At the minimum, Economic and Technical Feasibility study should be conducted to measure the cost
benefits and assess the risk including solutions, because it will determine the economic benefits and
credibility of the project and also whether or not the resources (mainly technical) is on par with the
capabilities of the technical team, and in this case, will mean the beneficiaries, since they will be trained
to manage their own bee hives/farms.

The following are also potential risk and challenges, just like in any other project.

▪ The fact that Honeybees are non-native, there is a chance they will be competing wild bees if
they are present
▪ Likelihood of not producing any honey for the initial year
▪ Susceptibility of Diseases, Parasites and Pesticides
▪ Market Access
▪ Competition
▪ Profitability (essential because most funders within the private sector are attracted by social
enterprise project models)
▪ Will require a strong committed Cross-Functional collaboration (new to staff and beneficiaries)
These are just some of the determinations that need to make towards a step closer to an in-depth
research and implementation. In other words, a good SWOT analysis can work. If successful, this can
play an integral role in the ANCP Exit (Sustainable) Strategy.