Projet de valorisation - Meliponiculture: a sustainable tool in agro-ecological systems for rural communities in Ecuador (acronym: Melipo

Meliponiculture is stingless beekeeping, we are focused on the valorization of the breeding and management of these emblematic bees in Ecuador, to conserve them as the main pollinators of tropical forests and offer rural communities an environmentally friendly ecological and economical alternative activity. The general objective of the Melipo-training tool project aims to build the capacity of stingless beekeepers in the field of sustainable production and fair trade to preserve the biodiversity of meliponids and, consequently, the environment. The project pretends to valorize meliponiculture as a sustainable tool in agroecological systems through an educational training program for producers and the community as civil society actors. To achieve these objectives, it is, therefore, necessary to create multidisciplinary educational programs that encompass the most important aspects of Meliponiculture. To achieve this universities ESPE (Ecuador) and ULiège (Belgium) will provide scientific capacity and field experience. In collaboration with the Belgian NGO MAYA (Beekeping for development), they will provide workshops on Introduction or Stingless bees Management through the Ministry of Agriculture in Ecuador. As expected results, we will provide producers with support materials like a Guide of Good Practices in Meliponiculture, environmental education guides to learn about the diversity of native bees, and a floral calendar tool. In addition, the research results be disseminated through leaflets and informative talks, in several Universities with conferences designed for students, academic staff, and producers, and finally during the organization of a National Meeting of Meliponiculture. With all this, it is intended that producers acquire adequate tools to strengthen their agroecological systems (farms) through meliponiculture.