For every $1 donated to the World Bee Project, they sponsor 187 native bees, ¼ of a tree, and 15 minutes of expert training for a farmer.

Led by Sabiha Rumani Malik, the executive team combines deep expertise in pollinator health, sustainable livelihoods, and community-driven innovation. Malik’s background, including her early involvement with Singularity University, underscores the organization's innovative approach. With successful projects across India, the UK, and beyond, the team has strengthened farming communities, enhanced biodiversity, and advanced agroecological agriculture through impactful partnerships and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Learn more about the team here.

Mission: Protecting Pollinators, People & the Planet to generate new knowledge and fresh insights and seek long-term solutions to address pollinator and pollination loss, biodiversity decline, food and nutrition insecurity, loss of smallholder farmer livelihoods, climate change and threats to human wellbeing.

Vision: Protecting Pollinators, People & the Planet.

The program offers a simple, proven approach by integrating native beekeeping, tree planting, and agroecological farming methods—an eco-friendly way of growing food that works with nature and indigenous practices. It leverages native bees, which thrive naturally with minimal intervention, making adoption straightforward. Combined with strategic tree planting and soil health improvements, the model creates a scalable, sustainable system that effectively supports both farming communities and environmental health in the long term.

The World Bee Project's approach has demonstrated successful scalability across diverse regions, including the UK, India, Ukraine, and Costa Rica. This track record illustrates that their model is highly adaptable and effective in other geographic areas, provided there is a suitable climate, the presence of native bee populations, and active community participation. For further examples of their global initiatives, see here.

Beekeeping is inherently designed to achieve self-sustainability through continuous honey sales and the natural expansion of bee colonies. While initial investment is necessary for training, provision of native bees, and capacity-building among farmers, these inputs enable lasting outcomes. The training ensures natural growth in bee populations and encourages agroecological farming methods that enhance pollinator health, improve soil fertility, and boost biodiversity. As a result, the program becomes increasingly self-sustaining over time.

The World Bee Project helps families establish beekeeping activities, enabling them to eventually achieve self-sufficiency through income generated from honey sales. Reaching full independence typically requires several years of ongoing training, consistent support, and the initial provision of essential equipment by the program. Currently, however, the initiative does not have explicit plans or timelines for becoming fully self-sustaining and continues to rely on external funding, especially for the set up phase of new project

The World Bee Project  has a very low risk of impact reversal—in this case, that means the bees dying off again or the benefits to communities fading over time. This is because the project uses hardy native bees, trains local women in sustainable beekeeping, and works closely with trusted partners like SEEDS Trust. Risks like bee disease, climate change, or drops in honey prices are managed through strong training, diverse income options, and market support. Community involvement and tree planting also help ensure the project continues to thrive in the long run.

The World Bee Project publishes annual financial reports through Companies House (UK) and provides sponsors with detailed, project-specific financial data

The World Bee Project maintains high operational transparency by actively sharing information about their ongoing activities through their website, blogs, and local partner platforms. Sponsors and partners receive regular updates on daily operations and project milestones. Additionally, the organization conducts open communication sessions and encourages direct site visits, providing stakeholders with comprehensive visibility into their execution and progress.

The organization provides monthly updates. Their reporting communicates progress on predefined deliverables and timelines. Updates typically include written reports, photographs, and video documentation, ensuring consistent and timely communication of project developments.

The World Bee Project has been operating for 10 years, and their India program has been running for 3 years.

The World Bee Project supports pollinator conservation and rural livelihoods through measurable, tech-enabled impact. In India, it has trained 80 women beekeepers managing 600 hives across forest and mangrove ecosystems, reintroducing over 36 million native honeybees (Apis cerana indica). Each Ayyalur family earns £250 (~$335) annually from honey sales—7x more than typical unskilled wages. Additionally, 6,000 native fruit trees have been planted to strengthen nectar sources. Across Europe and the UK, WBP uses sensor-based systems to support academic research on pollinator health and sustainable agriculture.

Their project in India began in 2022 and completed its initial implementation phase at the end of 2024. They launched the next three-year phase of the program earlier this year, in 2025.

The World Bee Project demonstrates its commitment to "Pollinators, People, and the Planet" through targeted programs that prioritize native bee conservation, foster sustainable development by closely engaging local communities, and incorporate environmentally friendly practices. Their transparent reporting and ethical community engagement further reinforce these core values.

The World Bee Project's overarching goal is to monitor and reverse pollinator decline while promoting sustainable solutions that benefit both humans and the environment. While their individual projects have clear, measurable targets—such as the number of families supported, beehives distributed, trees planted, and training hours provided—their overall "big goal" could be more specifically defined to allow for precise measurement and evaluation of progress.

The organization provides a detailed breakdown of projected costs for their annual operations, clearly outlining expenses related to training, equipment, tree planting, and program support. Their budgeting process thoughtfully considers contingencies and local economic conditions. However, while their short-term cost projections are comprehensive, they could further strengthen their financial planning by developing a clearer, longer-term strategy aligned with their big goal.

Each dollar directly translates into 187 native bees, ¼ of a tree, and 15 minutes of expert training for a farmer.

Every dollar donated sponsors 187 native bees, funds planting ¼ of a tree, and funds 15 minutes of expert training for a farmer. This solution helps increase smallholder farmer income by $250 annually through honey sales. That’s a 700% increase in annual income per farmer!

The World Bee Project systematically tracks progress through regular partner reports, including photos, videos, and activity updates, supplemented by in-person site visits to verify results and ensure measurable impact. Deploying their hive-monitoring technologies in India would further enhance their monitoring capabilities.

The World Bee Project directly targets the underlying root causes of issues such as pollinator decline, habitat loss, and economic instability among rural women. By teaching sustainable beekeeping and farming practices, it helps protect nature while giving families a way to earn money and support their communities.

The project enables women to generate income through honey sales and the expansion of their beekeeping enterprises. Although initial funding is required for training and equipment, the economic model increasingly becomes self-sustaining as families expand and manage their own hives, leading to greater financial independence over time.

This project poses minimal risk of obstructing better solutions. It complements existing approaches by leveraging local knowledge, working with native bees and resources efficiently, without wasting funds or causing environmental harm.

Yes, the program is developed in close collaboration with local communities. It leverages local expertise, resources, and tailored training to ensure the initiative directly benefits residents and aligns with their cultural practices.

No, the project actively supports local and Indigenous populations by diversifying income opportunities and providing essential resources. It collaborates closely with communities to prevent harm and ensure benefits are shared by all involved.

Yes, the project is clearly designed with future generations in mind. By integrating regenerative farming, apiary conservation, and local economic empowerment—especially for women—the initiative builds a foundation for lasting environmental and social resilience. These efforts are rooted in collaboration with local communities, ensuring that knowledge and practices are sustainable and culturally relevant. The early outcomes—such as increased incomes, greater gender equity, and healthier bee populations—suggest that the project is laying the groundwork for long-term benefits that will directly impact future generations.

During our review, we did not identify any potential risks of unintended negative consequences. This is because the project exclusively works with native bee populations and provides ongoing training for local participants, ensuring environmentally responsible practices.

During the transportation of the colonies there could be unwanted bee casualties but the colonies also tend to expand at a faster rate when kept in an apiary, compared to the wild.

There aren’t any known significant negative effects. The project is designed to improve the environment and people’s lives, and its benefits appear to far outweigh any small risks. 

The World Bee Project’s big goal is to stop the decline of bees while empowering disadvantaged women through beekeeping and farming. This ambitious effort tackles major issues—pollinator loss, habitat destruction, and poverty—all at once.

Preserving bees and other pollinators is a complex and urgent challenge. It’s not just about protecting a single species—it requires reversing widespread habitat loss, reducing harmful agricultural practices, and confronting the growing impacts of climate change. This often means transforming entire food systems, shifting away from monocultures, and working with rural communities to adopt sustainable alternatives. Few organizations have been able to address these interconnected issues at scale, which makes the work all the more critical—and difficult.

The World Bee Project integrates AI-powered hive monitoring, blockchain-based honey traceability, and eco-label certification through partnerships with Oracle, Bee Hero, Cambridge Consultants, and the University of Reading—resulting in a 30% increase in crop yields, a 25% reduction in bee mortality, and the launch of pioneering initiatives such as the World Bee City in Costa Rica and women-led rooftop apiaries in East Jerusalem.

This challenge is urgent because wild bee species have declined by around 25% since the 1990s. U.S. beekeepers lost approximately 62% of honey‑bee colonies between June 2024 and February 2025, marking the worst annual crash on record. Without swift reversal, up to 80% of flowering plants and 75% of our global food crops—from fruits and nuts to vegetables—are at risk due to insufficient pollination. This is not a distant threat—it’s a rapidly unfolding crisis undermining food production and ecosystem stability.