Honeybees have been living in vast and diverse geographic areas all over our planet for over 100 million years. Apiculture, the deliberate practice of beekeeping for production of honey and other bee products, is believed to date back thousands of years. Bees are a sign of well-functioning ecosystems: Beyond pollinating food crops and wild plants, they contribute to complex, interconnected ecosystems and allow a number of different species to co-exist. Furthermore honeybees produce nutritious honey, and thus support our food supply and income generation. Thanks to its many medical uses and health benefits, raw honey has long been used as one of the most effective folk remedies of all time. In the UAE, honey production is currently focused on indigenous tree species such as Sidr and Samar, with honey from the country’s national tree, the Ghaf, being one of the most exclusive products.
Goumbook has been planting Ghaf trees in the UAE for a decade and to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Give a Ghaf Planting Program, the idea was born to produce honey from our Ghaf trees. The Goumbook Ghaf Honey Project combines several aspects of sustainability in a powerful way: producing a commercially viable product with multiple health benefits and a unique cultural heritage value from indigenous plants adapted to the local environment, while supporting threatened bee populations and engaging corporate and civil society in a meaningful way.
The Give a Ghaf Honey Project is open for sponsorships by interested companies looking to demonstrate corporate social responsibility. Apart from having an immediate local impact, the project offers sponsors plenty of possibilities to engage employees or other stakeholders through unique team-building opportunities, or give back to society through creating community-based activities such as site visits, workshops, experience and awareness days and more. Building on the initial experience, the project can be scaled up with wider benefits for the community, specifically empowering low-income groups through vocational training, thus strengthening their livelihood and resilience, generating a lasting socio-economic impact in the UAE and beyond.
If your company wants to show commitment to preserving the future of our ecosystem by supporting a threatened key species, promote innovative CSR solutions, and improve workplace culture, reputation and wellbeing, contact us for sponsorship options at ask@goumbook.com.