DAN BALL : ROLE MODEL FOR DEVELOPMENT
by Robert Brow (www.brow.on.ca)
Kingston, Ontario January 2008
Dan and Barbara Ball live in Lusaka, Zambia. They have taught 6,000
farmers to keep bees. By selling the honey they produce, what were
destitute farmers have doubled their income. Many of them have been
able to build new homes and the countryside now shows the signs of a
new prosperity.
The Balls have trained 35 paid employees who ride motor bikes to go
round and collect the honey. The farmers don't feel demeaned. There
is no hand-out. "You have honey to sell, and we pay for the work you
have done."
Dan is the son of Harold and Pat Ball who served as evangelical
missionaries in Zambia. From them Dan had grown to love Africa. He
had a vision to meet the needs of the poorest people in the area. So
he began in a very small way. He learned to keep bees and taught the
skill to a few farmers. He paid them in cash, and soon others wanted
to learn how to increase their income.
The hard part was finding international markets for the honey. There
were very complex business arrangements. Dan and Barbara have had
two very lean years due to currency fluctuations. But now they have
taught their employees to bottle and package the honey, which
greatly increases the cash flow. There is a rapidly growing middle
class in Zambia and the surrounding countries. As a result there is
a huge demand for the honey that the farmers can produce. And all
this has been done without fuss or fanfare, or money from overseas,
and the people of Zambia know that it is their own hard work that
has made it possible.
The bottled honey is sold under the brand name - ZAMBESI GOLD. So if
you see this in the stores, you will know where it came from.
Robert Brow
browr@sympatico.ca
www.brow.on.ca
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