British born Paul Draper has been living on the Indian Ocean Islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues since 1974.

In 1989 he started a Rehabilitation and Production Project for the young disabled on Rodrigues Island, a remote and little known place situated 350 miles to the North East of the Island of Mauritius.

Whereas Mauritius has developed a busy and dynamic economy, Rodrigues has yet to develop in this way and there is much unemployment on the island.

Beekeeping was being developed as a possible solution to this problem and it was suggested to Paul Draper by members of the local authorities that this might be a suitable activity for some disabled, especially those who could not get to the Production workshop easily everyday.

In 1992 Paul called for help from BESO (British Executive Service Overseas) an organisation supported by the British Government, who contacted a Master Beekeeper from the UK called Michael Duggan, who agreed to come and advise on the setting up of the Project aimed at the disabled. Mr Duggan viewed the situation and wrote a report.

He agreed to come again IF the proposals of the report were accepted and, most important of all, acted upon.

This was the start of a continuing relationship between Michael Duggan and the Rodrigues ?Craft-Aid Project? (now rebaptised as ?CARECO (Rodrigues)?.

Today the project consists of a 15-hive Model Teaching Apiary and altogether about 25 potential beekeepers have been trained equipped and supported by the Project.

It is remarkable to note that many of these beekeepers are people with disabilities who previously had no activity at all, and live in isolated spots of the island totally dependent on a state pension and help from their families. Some are physically handicapped, some are hearing impaired and some have intellectual difficulties.

They are now caring for their hives and earning money from the sale of their honey.

In 1994 Michael Duggan (who visited the Island annually at his own expense), entered some Honey from the Rodrigues Project in the National Honey Show Competition in London.

It won the Silver Medal in the Honey from Overseas Group Competition there.

This put the Honey from Rodrigues on the Quality Map, and demand for the Rodrigues famous ?silver medal? Honey has become established.

The rebound effect from this project for the disabled has affected other bee keepers of the island who wish to improve their own beekeeping techniques. The Local Government authorities and Beekeeping Department of the Department of Agriculture make reference to the Michael Duggan Model Teaching Apiary methods.

<B>A special presentation</B>

There have been some improvements in the bottling and labelling of Rodrigues Honey and the local beekeepers are keen to improve their methods working from this example.

In 2000 Michael Duggan suffered a stroke and so is now unable to make his annual trip to Rodrigues to see the progress which is being maintained by the Project. Michael Duggan has now retired to Ireland .

However he keeps in touch and meets some of the Bee-keepers from Rodrigues who manage to get to the National Honey Show in London.

There are now 15 Trained Beekeepers from this project for the disabled who continue with their activity and who sell their honey to the Project, now called ?CARECO (Rodrigues)?, for bottling and marketing.

In order to show their appreciations to Michael Duggan for all his assistance and guidance in helping the disabled in Rodrigues to find an appropriate way to become active and contributing members of society, it was decided to offer Michael Duggan a Scale Wooden Model of the HMS Victory which was specially made in a workshop in Mauritius by Mr Denis Mallet.. This was taken to Ireland and presented to Mr. Duggan by Paul Draper on March 9th 2005.

<B>A beekeepers story </B>

The story of Eric Speville is typical of how this project has helped a disabled person on Rodrigues Island to live a more independent and useful life. Eric first asked for help from the Project in 1990.

He was born with a severely deformed right arm and hand so is only able to properly use his left arm and hand.

He comes from a poor family and although he did manage to attend a Government primary school, at 11 years old, formal education came to a stop.His prospects for finding employment or any activity were poor.

Rodrigues does not have an established economy, and many young people of his age leave the island to take their chances in Mauritius where job prospects are better, even if for a Rodriguan the problems of housing and adaptation are great.

For Eric with his disability this was not an option. He would find employment difficult to obtain in Mauritius.

He worked part time as a jobbing gardener for some overseas volunteers in Rodrigues, but when they left the island he was again unemployed.

He joined our project in the Woodwork and Crafts Department in 1990 and then when Michael Duggan started visiting us, Eric became interested in Beekeeping.

Today married and with three children, he has his own hives at his own house, and he also works full time in the CARECO Apiary and Honey Bottling department. He also helps train new recruits at the CARECO Centre and visits some of the disabled beekeepers in the CARECO Scheme.

He is paid a regular wage for his work in the Honey Department and he earns more cash from the sale of his own honey. He also gets a Government Pension and thus is able to live a decent life with a regular income.

In 1999 he was able to travel to the UK and man the Rodrigues Stand at the National Honey Show.He has won several awards for his Honey at this show.

He looks back at the events of his life since he joined our project as a real lifeline to progress and success.

This is the ?end product? of a rehabilitation project for the disabled, and it is the main aim of ?CARECO? Rodrigues to be instrumental in bringing other people with disabilities to lead normal, productive, interesting lives contributing fully to the life of their community.

<B>Trevor HUDDLESTON </B>

House Association C/o CARECO (Rodrigues) Co. Ltd. Camp du Roi, Rodrigues, Rep. of Mauritius Tel: 8311-766, Fax: 8312-276 Email: [email protected] Website: www.gplslc.free.fr