“Ever since I was 15 years old, I discovered a new interest in beekeeping. I enjoyed collecting honey from wild swarms, but I would do it the traditional way, as my father would.” Luis Alberto Montoya is now 18 years old, and a SAT student from the community of Sonis in Somoto. In his community, there is a small group dedicated to bee-keeping, but they have done it the only way they know how to: no proper equipment, no techniques, just common knowledge.

“I have always loved bee-keeping. It wasn’t until I became a Fabretto SAT student in 2014 that I realized there were so many better ways, so many techniques that help me make my work easier and safer. “said Luis Alberto. Fabretto partners, BID-FOMIN, support the SAT Program, empowering youth with vocational education, their families and their communities. They provide SAT students in Somoto with proper safety equipment and training workshops.

Luis Alberto lives with his father Luis Alberto Montoya, mother Bety Ordoñez, and grandmother Daniela del Carmen Hernandez

“We are a very close family. Almost everything we do, we do together. We harvest crops and have worked in bee-keeping for a very long time; but in the past few years, the rainy season has been very inconsistent and has affected our crops. Bee-keeping has been what we live off of at times.” says young Luis. Beekeeping is relatively inexpensive to establish and results in a product that is always in demand.

Luis acknowledges that through the SAT workshops and training, he has learned that using the transhumance technique in bee-keeping can help the production of honey grow 80% more, which he is beginning to use to better the results.

“I owe it all to my father who has instilled my love for working. He is my inspiration. I am very grateful to God for putting Fabretto in my path, and to everyone who supports the SAT Program. You have helped my family and myself improve our work and our well-being.”

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