“The bee is essential for life. She is work, health, renewal and well-being, she is resilience. She is like the mother who looks after younger generations. That is why it is essential to take care of it and value its product.” These words reflect the passion but also the challenges Faten Oueslati, a young beekeeper from Testour in the governorate of Beja, has faced in recent years.
After graduating in International Trade at ESSEC in Tunis in 2003, Faten didn’t imagine she would be launching a beekeeping project in her hometown 15 years later. She started her career in the private sector and was exploring the idea of starting an entrepreneurial project in the innovative sector of snail farming. But in 2008, Faten’s mother had a serious stroke and suffered severe loss of motor skills. This event deeply effected her professional and private life – almost overnight, Faten became her mother’s primary carer. .
“After the shock of the stroke, I did everything to find solutions to ensure my mother’s recovery and improve her quality of life. It was at this point that I discovered the hidden powers of beehive products, honey and more specifically propolis and royal jelly. I looked for high quality products on the market but in vain – so I decided to produce them myself.”
In 2012, she invested fully in this project to turn it into a real business. She completed a first vocational training course to learn beekeeping and honey production techniques, and timidly started her production with the purchase of 3 hives.
A few years later, her entrepreneurial journey took off when she joined the Mashrou3i project in September 2020. Through Mashrou3i, she learnt how to value her hive products but also the natural resources of her region during several technical trainings in distillation of floral waters and perfumes, and natural cosmetics, planting of aromatic and medicinal plants, and candy confection.
“Joining Mashrou3i is what really put me on the path to entrepreneurship and helped me to develop my business and diversify. At the beginning, I only had an idea for a project in beekeeping. Today, I have broadened my ambitions and am diversifying my activities thanks to the skills I have acquired during the several technical trainings I attended.”
The project also supported Faten in her marketing strategy through the creation of her graphic design and logo of her brand “Mielly”, registered at the same time at the INORPI. In parallel to the farming of her 15 beehives, Faten is now diversifying her activities through the creation of a cosmetic brand “Cébéla” on the first hand, then confectionery in a second phase.
“It took me a long time, but the most important thing for me was to capitalize on the quality of my products and my brands. I therefore took my time to train myself, to acquire the right skills, to select the best materials, to work on the marketing of my products… Offering quality and trustful products was the most important thing. Today I am achieving my goal!”
Beyond the support and devotion given to her mother, Faten also had to build a solid foundation to guarantee her future. The launch of her professional project allowed her to devote herself to her mother’s well-being on the one hand, but also to assert and empower herself through a professional activity in which she could blossom and build her life.
“I am happy to devote my life today to a passion that at the same time helps others in pain. In addition to the health benefits for people suffering from serious pathologies, hive products are also beneficial for the proper development of young children through a balanced diet. I will make it a point to diversify my products in the future.”