Alleviating poverty through beekeeping

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uWatch Ltd, UK and The Source Plus, Kenya partnership formalised.

uWatch Ltd and The Source Plus Ltd who have been working together, self-funded for nearly 3 years, have formalised the association as the ApiTrace Partnership.

The localisation of uWatch’s apiary management system Bee.Watch is being delivered on the ground in Sub-Saharan Africa by a subsidiary of The Source Plus, the Africa Apiculture Consortium. The system is called ApiTrace.

The goals of the ApiTrace Partnership are to alleviate poverty and address gender equality and the lack of employment opportunities in remote, rural communities across Africa by bringing the market for traceable, and hence exportable honey to rural producers.

Producers will bring their honey to the local Honey Processing Hub (HPH) and be paid instantly, turning honey into a cash crop. There are ¼ million honey producers in Kenya alone where over 78% are women and girls and 98% are domestic producers.

“You see very little quality African honey on supermarket shelves in the UK due to lack of traceability.  Bee.Watch started in our own apiary when we put a QR code on every hive to facilitate recording of inspections on the Bee.Watch app.”

Beryl Guiver of uWatch Ltd

“We researched available honey management systems that could be localised and uWatch sent us their system to test in Swahili.  It included apiary and swarm management but also pesticide monitoring which is very high on our government’s agenda.”

Andrew Soita of The Source Plus

Traceability is achieved by the use of integrated innovative information technology from QR coded hives, apps that work when there is no GSM signal, the use of GPS to verify data capture locations and Radio Frequency Identification Systems (RFIDs) on honey barrels integrated with weighing machines.  These features are incorporated in ApiTrace.

Beekeeping is a widespread activity in Sub-Saharan Africa that anyone can participate in as people can produce a valuable cash crop without having to own land.

Apiculture has a low environmental impact and there are many ecological benefits linked to honeybees which are well documented and understood.  ApiTrace generates invaluable big data while supporting both rural communities and the environment.

The implementation of the first HPH will be taking place Autumn 2022, it will run on renewable energy sources, have training facilities for AAVQs (African Apiculture Vocational Qualifications) to provide a quantifiable resource of qualified beekeepers as markets develop and output increases.

Localised from uWatch’s Bee.Watch Hive Management system, the ApiTrace app is available in English, Swahili, and French, and is readily translatable into other languages.

Innovate UK is funding the feasibility study for the HPH currently being undertaken jointly by the two companies to be completed by the end of March 2022.

Beryl Guiver, uWatch Ltd Managing Director, signing the agreement.

Securing your allotments

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Tackling trespasses on private land can be a problem in itself but when it comes to protecting your allotments from theft and sheer destruction, that’s when it’s time to act now and protect your property.

uWatch have a unique security alerting LoRa system which has the capability to protect up to a 2km range of council owned or private land. The cube operates with remote sensor tags that can be easily positioned anywhere (e.g. on doors at individual rented allotment sheds internally or externally). The Cube is set up to alert via a push notification alarm siren to the users smartphone (via the uWatch app), should their sheds be compromised by theft or other intrusions happening in real-time.

Many allotment sites suffer from theft and vandalism, sometimes minor incidents like theft of pots and tools but also major issues involving smashing of glass, breaking into sheds, stealing valuable items and even arson. Majority of thefts happen at night; that’s when the LoRa Cube can be remotely timed to operate during the hours of darkness.

This development has significant benefits for Councils, private land owners and allotment associations. The Cube can be managed by a controlling ‘agent’ as a point of contact for Councils or allotment association organisers who can share information with their allotment member. This information can be used for a local Neighbourhood Policing Team (NHPT) to be made aware of what’s happening in their area and providing date and time-stamped evidence or incident patterns from the app if required.

Technical Benefits of Lora
LoRa links the uWatch Cube with small remote sensors (tags) at ranges of 1km or more in clear line of sight or up to approximately 300m in and around obstacles or buildings. It operates using low frequency radio waves which are more powerful at longer range. The high power also allows LoRa to penetrate obstacles. The tags and the Cube utilise internal or external antenna (for long range) and monitor shock/PIR (movement) sensing. LoRa can protect multiple allotments and alert a user in seconds. The solar powered LoRa version offers unlimited battery use, all versions are operated with No Mains, No WiFi .. perfect for those rural areas. The LoRa Cube operates from a SIM only contract (just like the original Bluetooth version).

Why we need to protect our allotments
Protecting our allotments is so important to the environment and individuals’ health, more so now with the current pandemic. For many people, allotments offer an escapism to de-stress and create a good balance in our every day lives. It’s a fantastic way of bringing our communities together whether for educational needs or local community groups with a common interest. Allotments are the perfect place to encourage healthy eating… free of pesticides and helping the environment by reducing personal carbon footprint compared to shop-bought alternatives and limiting the packaging used. 

*** LoRa will be available to purchase Spring 2022. For free demonstrations or further information please contact nb@uwatch.co.uk or call 01491 651229 to be included on a mailing list ***

Tool thefts from Vans

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Safeguarding your tools and van

Tool theft from vans in the UK is still on the rise, costing tradespeople £100 million a year to replace their stolen tools. To help prevent this issue the uWatch Cube is a unique security alerting device which is a great asset for protecting your tools and van.

What makes this security device unique is the Cube doesn’t require mains power or WiFi to operate. The cube is versatile in where it’s placed, indoors or outdoors and perfect for being positioned in your work van. It’s a great device for protecting your tools and is easy to set up with the uWatch app and desktop system which will allow you to select the ‘Van’ configuration setting. The Cube will provide date and time-stamped images and send alerts to your phone in under 30 seconds. Most thefts take place in the hours of darkness but this won’t stop the Cube from taking good quality images with it’s built-in infrared sensor. Included is GPS location, so if the baddie wants to steal your van, as well as your tools, this can be easily tracked.

The uWatch app can be accessed easily for its information and to provide as evidence to share with your local police and community. The Cube is accredited by the police’s ‘Secured By Design’ initiative and recommended by a number of police forces such as Staffordshire, Bedfordshire and Suffolk Police.

To find out full details on The Cube click here.

Another of uWatch products is the Tool Register App if you’re a busy tradesperson and your tools get stolen trying to find receipts/paperwork can be a nightmare. The beauty of the Tool Register App is everything is secured in one place, think of it as a virtual filing cabinet but this one is much easier to use! Upon purchasing your new tool, take a photo of it, add it’s make, model, scan serial number, purchase receipt and make a description identifying anything unique. Once the tool is stored on the app you can download as a pdf to share with your local community or police force.

The Tool Register app to download for both Android and iOS devices.

When the clocks go back, keep thieves in the dark.

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Clocks go back: Sunday, 31 October.

Thinking of security for those bikes and tools in your shed? They become more vulnerable on 31st October when the clocks go back. It may feel like a long time since the blue skies of summer, but this marks the end of British Summer Time (BST). It also means an extra hour in bed.

When the nights get longer and the clocks go back, don’t be in the dark when it comes to protecting your belongings. Bikes and tools in sheds and outbuildings are particularly vulnerable with 1 in 6 people taking no measure to secure them, as Aviva reports a 15% increase in home theft during October and November while intruders have greater opportunities to hide under the cover of darkness leading to over 22,500 instances of shed break-ins and thefts each year.

uWatch provides solutions for security in sheds, garages, and outbuildings, with the Cube which is accredited by the police’s ‘Secured By Design’ initiative and recommended by a number of police forces such as Staffordshire, Bedfordshire, and Suffolk Police. The Cube has a built-in camera and PIR motion sensor, connects to the strongest out of all available GSM mobile networks and requires no mains power making it ideal for remote locations, with instant notifications including photos and GPS data sent direct to your smartphone in under 30 seconds.

The Cube system is easy to set up, with the intuitive uWatch app and desktop system that allows you to configure your Cube’s settings to work in a way that is tailored to your needs. It can provide time- and date-stamped images, along with notifications of signal strength, GPS location and temperature, allowing you the peace of mind that should anybody try to intrude on your property, you’ll be informed instantly with all the necessary information and evidence for you to share with the police and your local community. Using your uWatch Cube alongside a Bluetooth or long-range LoRa tag means that you can be notified of a gate, shed or garage door being opened, with a photo delivered to your phone or email inbox within seconds, should any intruders gain entry.

This innovative palm-sized system is inconspicuous and can be paired with multiple LoRa tags, allowing the Cube to act as a central hub if the property, shed, or garage you need to protect has multiple points of entry or vulnerabilities. The portable size and nature of the Cube allows for it to be deployed wherever needed, with quick and easy reconfiguration allowing it to be used in scenarios ranging from outbuildings and sheds, to shipping containers and boats.

NFU Rural Crime Report 2021

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NFU Mutual have released the Rural Crime Report for 2021.

Rural theft cost the UK an estimated £43.3m in 2020, a decrease on the previous year. The reduction in the cost of rural theft is welcome news but last year was no ordinary year. Lockdown helped to lock criminals out of the countryside, and increased security on farms and rural policing played a role in the reduction.

However, highly-organise criminals continued to plague farmyards over the pandemic, stealing high-value farming Global Positioning Systems, quad bikes and ATVs as the cost of agricultural vehicle theft reported to NFU Mutual remained at over £9m.

NFU Mutual

At uWatch, we have been developing a system which would help many of the issues raised in the report, fly-tipping, suspicious vehicles, GPS and vehicle theft. We have always been aware of the skilled and highly-organised nature of the criminals that we are up against, so we have created a twenty first century approach.

We are passionate about working together in local communities to fight rural crime and our Cube is police-approved.

Victims of rural crime who would usually use 101 and struggle to get through to someone actually on the front line. Our system could alert a local police officer within 25 seconds. Watch the video below to find out more or contact us on 01491 651229.

uWatch Ltd at the Security and Policing Home Office Event 2021

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We are excited to be exhibiting at the Security and Policing Home Office event this year from 9-11 March. As a business we are heavily invested in improving national rural security through technology and see this event as a fantastic opportunity to share our passion with the wider sector.

We’ll be on-hand virtually to support the best we can and our virtual exhibition stand features information on our latest developments and products. Our team will be available on the platform throughout the event to assist with any questions.

You can find out more about the Security and Policing Home Office Event here, registration is open until Friday 5th March.

uWatch in the security sector

The uWatch systems empower the plethora of community “Watch” organisations to be the coordinated eyes and ears of regulatory and enforcement agencies, such as the environment or policing, to capture big data nationally and deliver intelligence and evidence locally, in seconds.  

Obsolete systems using slow, expensive call centres to report fly tipping, pavement fouling, minor theft, hare coursing, trespass, suspicious vehicles and the rest of non-serious crime, need to embrace the power of the smartphone, as Organised Crime does so effectively. The systems are delivered locally and nationally in the local user’s preferred language.

Interested in knowing more? Contact us today on 01491 651229 or lb@uwatch.co.uk.

Launch of Phones4Bees

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We need your disused smartphones to help African beekeepers. 

We have launched the “Phones4Bees” campaign, a Bee.Watch project working with the Africa Honey Consortium and The Source Plus, a not for profit company working in Kenya providing solutions to agricultural and environmental issues. 

We are asking everyone to send us any disused smartphones that may be gathering dust in a bedside drawer or cupboard and help both our beekeeper’s and the environment in the process.

Smartphone technology is key to the development of beekeeping across Africa and we are developing our existing Apiary management system to create a honey traceability and payment system, Api-Trace, whilst also feeding into ‘big data’ strategies to protect the environment and pollinators alike.

African beekeepers will use the donated phones to keep real-time hive records, manage the swarm season and monitor local pesticide usage to produce the purest honey whilst also recording their training and work towards vocational qualifications. Equally importantly, the app will be the payment gateway, paying the beekeepers a fair price at source for their honey, so bringing the market to the rural beekeepers. This will result in a strengthened rural economy and increased rural employment. 

This project will initially roll out in Kenya and then out across East Africa. With commitment already from Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Nigeria and South Africa.

Take a look at the infographic below, share with your networks and follow the simple steps to donate your disused smartphones and help to make a difference. 

Find out more about this exciting project at: 
https://www.bee.watch/donate-your-phone/ and https://www.africahoneyconsortium.org/phones4bees/

Follow the conversation on social media #Phones4Bees

Bee.Watch is part of uWatch Ltd

Over 10,000 horses stolen in the UK each year

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Every year horses, ponies and equine equipment worth hundreds of thousands of pounds are stolen across the country. It has been reported that over 10,000 horses are stolen each year in the UK and thousands of pounds worth of insurance claims are made for stolen tack, horseboxes and trailers.

Rural crime not only causes financial hardship and impact on insurance premiums but also impacts food prices and damages local communities and livelihoods. 

Research by NFU Mutual outlined the key trends over the year and highlighted the sharp rise in the value of organised crime (£54million), with thieves targeting high value equipment and livestock.

The Cube operates to combat rural crime and is a device that works with a roaming SIM and is lithium battery-powered (no mains power or WiFi required). The Cube provides an instant alert of any disturbances happening in areas and on items you wish to protect. This information can be shared with the police, giving them important evidence at the same time the crime is being carried out. 

Protect your high value items from theft and don’t become a victim of rural crime. Horse(s), saddles, horse boxes, jumps and arena equipment, quad bikes, rugs, feed & supplements, generators and farm machinery are all high-ticket items often found at equestrian facilities and are particularly attractive to thieves. 

With a Cube at gate entrances, stables, tack room doors and vehicles, any disturbances to the shock sensor tags or to the device itself will send an instant alert to your phone which you can escalate to the police if needed. If an item with the Cube attached is moved, such as a horsebox or trailer, the Cube can be GPS tracked and repatriated to its rightful owner. 

This gives assurance that horses and tack are in a secured and monitored environment.

The Cube doubles as an effective pest control solution where the shock sensors can be attached to a trap device and can send footage back to the cube. This will alert you to the times and levels of rodent activity, giving you the information to act appropriately.  

Rodents in feed rooms ruin expensive horse feed and have the potential to spread disease and infection to horses and those using the facility, including children. They can also cause serious and expensive damage to other items such as saddles and leather items found in tack rooms. 

Keeping Rodents Out of Your Feed Room – The Horse


According to crime data, over 376,000 bicycles are stolen each year, roughly one every 90 seconds! This alarming figure is a huge concern for many. The Insurer Admiral reported that in June alone, reported bike thefts were up 46% on 2019. 

It was also reported that bike thefts now account for more than a third (37%) of all theft claims, up from 12% last year.

With an increase to outdoor exercise over the lockdown periods, bike retailers have been selling out of many models. Whilst this is good news for the nation’s fitness, more bikes are being stolen. Cyclists are therefore being warned to be vigilant, keep an eye out for thieves and step up their bike security. 

With people being encouraged to avoid public transport where possible with the second lockdown in England, we could expect to see a second surge in bike purchases, and consequently, bike thefts.

The Cube can help put the brakes on increasing theft by improving your bike’s security, keeping an eye on your bike whilst you can’t. The smart technology will send an alert to your smartphone within 30 seconds of an attempted break in to your shed, garage or storage location. 

When travel restrictions are lifted again, this security can accompany you on your travels as the cube is totally portable. The cube will give you peace of mind that your bike is safe whilst you’re away whether that be in your car, caravan site or holiday home.

The uWatch app also allows you to record your assets, keep descriptions and date/time stamped photos of your bike and other valuables. If your bicycle is stolen, you can escalate this information to the local police and your insurance company.

Contact Louis Bennet, Product Manager either by email or call 01491 651 229 and let us discuss your requirements.

Secured by Design

Secured by Design

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In order for a product or service to have a Police Recommendation, that product needs to submitted to a thorough vetting procedure. ‘Secured by Design’ are the official company to carry out this procedure.

uWatch’s Cube has been vetted and approved by Secured by Design and has been categorised under “Crime Reporting & CCTV“

Secured by Design was created in 1989, and initially focused on windows and door security. Working with manufacturers, industry bodies, and certification bodies they helped to drive up standards in design and manufacture and security.

They have also worked with Government, to drive crime prevention methods into the planning process for all housing projects.

The company employs ‘Designing Out Crime Officers’. Their job is to work with developers, architects, town planners, local authorities to reduce the potential for criminal activity at the planning stage.

There are over 700 member companies approved by Secured by Design. They in turn have thousands of products that have achieved the Police Preferred Specification. uWatch is one of these companies.

Whilst uWatch has this accreditation, it does not automatically mean a Police Recommendation. The independent Police Constabularies in England and Wales, Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland retain that right.

uWatch has worked with a number of Police Forces across the UK, attending and supporting over 30 Local and Rural Crime roadshows. Speaking to Rural Crime officers, landowners, farmers and businesses that could benefit from a product like The Cube.

If you planning a local event, whether you are Rural Crime Officer or a Local Farmers organisation – please get in touch.

Contact Louis Bennet, Product Manager either by email or call 01491 651 229 and let us discuss your requirements.