‘Bee Life’ Centre inaugurated, backed by BoC, Cyprus Rotarians

Through the efforts of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and Cyprus rotary clubs, the Queen Bee Artificial Breeding Centre ‘Bee Life’ was inaugurated in Odou village on June 26. Its aim is environmental revitalisation and restoring the economic and professional viability of Larnaca region’s fire-affected areas of honey production.

The initiative is part of the BoC Corporate Social Responsibility programme, under its Environment pillar, aiming to restore the ecosystem that was destroyed, while renewing the impacted honey-producing communities.

BoC Consumer Banking Director Theodosis Theodosiou stressed the Bank’s substantial contribution, from the first hours of the devastating fire, noting that the operation of the ‘Bee Life’ Centre will provide skills to young people living in the area, so they can stay and continue to work professionally in producing honey  and other related products. “The goal,” noted Theodosiou, “is to give much-needed support to nature and communities that are suffering environmentally, economically and professionally, to come back to life.”

For the materialisation of the Centre, the Bank of Cyprus collaborated with the Rotary Clubs of Cyprus, with the aim of maximising their contribution to support Larnaca’s fire-affected areas, after 75 per cent of hives and millions of bees were lost in last year’s blaze.

At the same time, the Centre’s operation will support the local economy by helping restore not only honey production but also related agricultural products. Nine communities and 38 small- and medium-sized honey production businesses, in particular, will benefit from the Centre’s operations.

Furthermore, the Centre will be linked to parallel educational programmes and other activities to raise public awareness of the important role of bees in the environment.

The Centre was inaugurated at the launch of the Honey Festival on the Road, and will be run by members of local communities, staffed by trained personnel. Its activities are supported by the Cyprus Beekeepers Association and the Troodos Network.