crease. There was a problem with the wax moth that needed to be
addressed. Two additional meetings dealt with approved prac-
tices, discussed the potential of new marketing methods and
explained various honey products and how they were made. A
decision was made at one of the meetings to form a steering com-
mittee to develop a honey cooperative. Since that time, one has
been established by the Dominican beekeepers.
 In another series of classes that ran concurrently with ex-
perienced beekeeping classes, those interested in becoming
beekeepers were given the opportunity to attend two different
class sessions. One series of classes was held during the morning
for those that were not employed and an identical session was
held late in the afternoon and on weekends for those that had
conflicting work schedules. All class sessions used slides, equip-
ment displays, demonstrations, and field trips as part of the
presentation. Each student had the opportunity to help collect
swarms and to work a hive. There were also demonstrations with
hands-on opportunity to make all equipment necessary to
become a beekeeper. A local beekeeper was trained and engaged
to demonstrate how to make a hive body, frames and foundation
with class members assisting to learn the skills. Class members did
construct their equipment.
 Techniques in collecting a colony from a tree were
demonstrated and once the colony was collected it was given to
the student who found it. Swarms were also collected and became
the property of the persons) who discovered them. All class
members attending had the opportunity to learn a wide range of
these skills. Each session of the class grew larger in number of par-
ticipants, indicating a growing interest.
 There are a large number of unmanaged wild colonies in
Dominica due to the hurricanes that devastated apiaries and the
land in 1979 and 1980. Also, because of a lack of management by
existing beekeepers, a lot of wild colonies were established from
swarms. These, of course, were of no great benefit and in some
instances, a nuisance to people.
 The beginning beekeeper classes included Dominicans from all
walks of life. Bankers, youth, business people, small farmers and
even one gentleman 86 years of age enrolled in the beginning
course of study and completed it. An indication of the success of
this venture can be illustrated by the increase in the number of
hives and beekeepers. An example -one person, Charles Stevens,
had four hives established from swarms as a result of taking the
Beginning Beekeepers Course. He began the course without any
hives. A hive and the equipment had the value of approximately
$400 EC. Today the number of colonies found on Dominica has


increased from the original 405 in September of 1983 to over
1,200, according to Tony Sorhaindo who took an actual count in
September of 1984.
 Prior to leaving Dominica, a curriculum and lesson plan was
 developed for the Organization of American States (O.A.S.), of-
 fering beekeeping training to Dominican 4-H youth. Also, a set
 of slides was provided through the efforts of Tony Sorhaindo,
 New Crops Extension Officer, Roger Hoopingarner, Entomology
 Youth Programs, Apiculture and Crop Pollination Specialist of
 Michigan State University, and myself, to be used by the instruc-
 tor. There were 18 4-H youths who completed the more intense
 three-month session taught by a local beekeeper and Tony
 Sorhaindo. The Chief Extension Officer, Errol Harris, a
 beekeeper himself, has offered each student who satisifactorily
 finished the O.A.S. course assistance to secure his(her) own hive.
 Most of the Dominican bee industry expansion this past year
was from finding and capturing colonies from hollow trees, cliffs,
buildings, etc., and by division of existing colonies.
 Dominica and most of the Caribbean nations are free of disease
and the Africanized bee has not invaded the islands. Every con-
ceivable effort should be made to keep it that way. This is a small
farm industry that can develop from within a nation. Additional
skills in packaging, typing honey, queen rearing and marketing
are major needs. In addition, a package industry could be
developed for not only the Caribbean nations, but for export.
Central extraction and packaging of honey is important for both
domestic and foreign markets. Import constraints should pro-
bably be explored to keep the Caribbean nations free of disease
and the Africanized bee.
 An existing monthly newsletter sent to all youth on the island
was expanded to include information on bees to help the youth
learn about the importance of bees and how to identify swarms,
wild colonies and to whom to report them.
 The bee industry of Dominica is on the move. It was fun and
rewarding to be a part of what has happened and to assist in
guiding future efforts.





References
 1. Breyer, R.A., R. Hoopengarner, C.A. Sorhaindo. 1983. Dominican
Beekeeping. 80 slides.
 2. Gentry, C. 1982. Small Keeping Beekeeping. M-17.
 3. Jaycox, E.R. 1981. Beekeeping in the Midwest. Circular 1125.


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