Plan Bee has won the World Challenge 08. The Pakistani project helps female beekeepers boost their income by selling high quality honey. The northern areas of Pakistan are among the poorest and most isolated regions in the country. Effective development assistance has yet to reach these hilly, remote areas and it is the women and children who are most affected. The only workable and sustainable solution is to capitalise on local resources, building on what is achievable as well as culturally acceptable.

Established by the Hashoo Foundation, Plan Bee enables honeybee farmers to earn more than twice the price they would in the local market, while making the most of their skills and environment without placing pressure on the local ecosystem.

They received $20,000 to plough back into the Plan Bee project. The two runners up, Agricultural School (Paraguay) and Shanti Sewa Griha (Nepal) each received a grant of USD $10,000 to help with income generating opportunities for their projects. The Awards ceremony was held in The Hague, where a representative from each project was in attendance in December 2008.

Now in its fourth year, World Challenge 08 is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. World Challenge 08 is brought to you by BBC World News and Newsweek, in association with Shell, and is about championing and rewarding projects and business which really make a difference.