About Us – BeeVeda

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Thirty years of community work brought us here. Learn about the people and the mission behind BeeVeda.

About the BeeVeda Project

Our Vision

To build empowered communities where every woman has the opportunity, confidence, and support to transform her life, her family and shape a better future.

Our Mission

To empower women through skills, entrepreneurship, sustainable livelihood development, and continuous guidance, helping them overcome financial challenges and create lasting social, economic, and environmental impact.

Queen Bees

Grama Niladhari Divisions

Field-based learning visits

Full-day practical workshops

Bee boxes distributed for honey production

100

BeeVeda Market Showcase

Industrial-grade honey extractors distributed

people reached

500 +

Ayurvedic plants distributed

2000

compost bins distributed and in use

From a Simple Idea to a Meaningful Movement

With support from the Australian Government through its Direct Aid Program, the project took shape in Bandaragama. Fifty women from seven Grama Niladhari divisions were selected and brought into a programme that was designed not just to teach skills, but to build real businesses from the ground up.

The BeeVeda Project started with a straightforward observation. Across the Kalutara District, there were women with knowledge, energy, and time, but without a structured path to earn an income. The EMACE Foundation saw an opportunity to change that by connecting them with something the land already offered: bees, plants, and the deep traditional knowledge of how to work with both.

From an inspired dream to a successful reality

The women learned to keep bees, make organic fertilizer, and grow ayurvedic plants. They got certified, completed a business training week, and visited large-scale operations to see what their future could look like. Through it all, the EMACE team was there every step of the way.
In 2025, the first BeeVeda Market in Bandaragama gave these women a stage, and they shone. The Governor-General of Australia, Her Excellency Sam Mostyn AC, and the Australian High Commissioner Paul Stephens both came to meet them in person. Today, fifty Queen Bees are running their own businesses, lifting up their neighbours, and showing their communities what women are truly capable of.

Supported by

About EMACE Foundation

Since 1994, EMACE Foundation of Sri Lanka has worked to protect nature and uplift communities through environmental conservation, women’s empowerment, youth development, sustainable livelihoods, and social innovation. BeeVeda is one of EMACE’s community empowerment initiatives, created to help women build skills, confidence, and income through nature-based enterprise.

Supported by Australian Aid

Australian Aid, through the Government of Australia’s Direct Aid Program, supports community-led initiatives that create meaningful local impact. Through this support, BeeVeda empowers women from financially vulnerable backgrounds with training, equipment, mentorship, and market access — helping them step forward as confident entrepreneurs and changemakers.

Sri Lanka Support Unit

The Sri Lanka Support Unit has played a key role in coordinating, monitoring, and supporting the BeeVeda project throughout its journey. Through continuous guidance, hands-on assistance, and close project follow-up, the SLSU team helped ensure that activities were implemented smoothly and that the project stayed focused on creating meaningful impact for women and their communities.

BeeVeda

Rooted in Nature.Powered by Women.