Upendo Honey is an organic honey and wax company based in Kigoma, Tanzania. By partnering with over 4,000 traditional beekeepers in remote forests and game reserves across Western Tanzania, we bring high-quality organic honey to customers worldwide.
Upendo Honey is a social enterprise — a business that uses its operations to create positive social and environmental impact while generating sustainable income for local communities.
The why
To align premium markets with forest protection and rural prosperity.
Mission
To build transparent, export-ready honey supply chains that reward producers and ecosystems.
Vision
A global food system where quality, livelihoods, and conservation advance together.
Led by Isabell von Oertzen, Arno Rohwedder and Alex Chetkovich — who also form the Board of Directors — our leadership brings over 35 years of experience in Sub-Saharan Africa.
We employ 160 people, including field officers who liaise with beekeepers and provide training. Upendo Honey is the largest private-sector employer of women in Kigoma, Tanzania.
The existing market for traditional beekeepers is rife with problems: uncertainty, non-payment, poor terms and low pricing. By accessing export markets through organic certification and higher quality standards, we provide market stability, transparency and significantly increased beekeeper income.
Western Tanzania is endowed with the pristine forests that forest honey requires. By creating a stable economy around honey we contribute directly to preserving them — it is one of the only economic incentives to keep Tanzania’s forests standing.
