During the 2011-2012 school year, the Ramon Llull school is launching its first international cooperation project with Gambia.

One of the biggest problems that must be addressed in any international cooperation project is its sustainability. Any action, no matter how small, must provide for measures that guarantee the durability of the action over time, thus giving it its own meaning.

Therefore, sustainability policies must be designed in accordance with the possibilities of both donors and beneficiaries, for this reason we must look for sustainability formulas that are born on the ground, that are not imposed on us, or if desired, conditioned from our paternalistic point of view, it is often alien to the very reality of the socio-economic environment that characterizes the beneficiary communities.

For that; sustainability yes, but there.

The Ramon Llull school has set out to use all the funds obtained to generate wealth. We are convinced that this is what will guarantee us the success and durability of the action we are preparing to take.

After months of work and advice, we observed that the models favorable to the creation of wealth fell basically into formulas based on their natural or socio-economic reality, easy to implement and subsequent development. Among them, we could highlight the textile, transport, agriculture and beekeeping. Each and every one of them is characteristic of Gambia, so they do not generate any social impact, and are usually well received by any community.

This is how we decided to focus our action for 2012 on participation in a beekeeping project, with the intention of being able to lay a solid foundation that would allow us to collect the fruit continuously over time, thus ensuring the continuity of the action indefinitely.

This project, not only provides its own resources to the community, but also generates jobs and most importantly, allows a diversification of economic activity regardless of agriculture. 90% of family income depends on agricultural activity and diversification allows for sustainability over low productivity seasons in this sector.

On the other hand, the rural environment has been affected in recent years by a series of problems caused by depopulation due to lack of resources, the emigration of young people and deforestation. The implementation of a project such as the honey beehive, which, in turn, has a certain tradition in the country, is a way to address these issues, providing rural communities with expectations, both economic and social.

In this direction, already 2 years ago in the community of Berefet, a population of just over 500 inhabitants, began the adventure of the beekeeping farm with excellent results, generating jobs and most importantly, wealth in the village.