Urban beekeeping in Bahir Dar

Janet Lowore, Bees for Development, 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK

Keywords: Africa, Andassa Livestock Research, Bees for Development Ethiopia, calabash hive, local style hive, mother colony, top-bar hive

Beekeeping has long been considered a rural craft, however in recent years beekeeping in urban areas has become much more common. In London (UK) there may be as many as 3,200 apiaries 1 with rooftop beekeeping becoming a popular feature on several of London’s landmark buildings. Steve Benbow, author of The Urban Beekeeper, talks of the “nectar paradise offered by the city woodland” 2 and reports crops of honey so heavy that he had to buy more hive boxes mid-season to accommodate the honey flow.

The following story from Bahir Dar in Ethiopia shows that urban beekeeping is not confined to industrialised countries. Sandwiched between a busy main road in Bahir Dar and Lake Tana is a strip of land about 40 m wide owned by beekeeper Mr Bayligne - the gate to the apiary can be seen just behind Mr Bayligne on the right of the picture below.

On this tiny patch of land, which also supports trees for fruit, timber and bee forage, Mr Bayligne maintains 10 local style hives, one top-bar hive and one small calabash hive (shown bottom-left). The calabash hive is deliberately maintained as a mother colony to produce swarms for multiplication. Mr Bayligne listens to the colony and when he hears a young queen piping, he will stay in the apiary waiting for the swarm that he knows will soon emerge.

The entrance to Mr Bayligne’s apiary beside Lake Tana

PHOTOS © BfD

Mr Bayligne has local style, top-bar hives and a calabash hive maintained as a mother colony to produce swarms

Roof top beekeeping is now a regular sight in London

Roof top beekeeping is now a regular sight in London

PHOTOS © BARNABY SHAW, BEE URBAN

Since January 2012 he has acquired five new swarms from this colony which he had pre-selected for its preferred traits.

From one recent harvest the top-bar hive yielded 49 kg of honey: this is due to its comparative large size. The hive is empty now as he was advised to try a frame hive by a government extension worker. He bought a frame hive cheaply from another beekeeper (who had been given the hive) and earlier this year transferred the colony to the frame hive. However, Mr Bayligne does not have a honey extractor and chose instead to sell the frame hive complete with the bee colony for 900 birr (US$50; €38).

Mr Bayligne with his top-bar hive

Mr Bayligne’s local style hives in his field shelter

This beautiful honeycomb was harvested from Andassa Livestock Research Centre in Bahir Dar city

The local style hives (see page 12) are inside Mr Bayligne’s field shelter. To harvest honey he removes the covers from the inside ends and takes out the honeycombs. The brood nest tends to be in the middle and he carefully avoids damaging the brood during harvest. The far end (near the bees’ entrance) is inaccessible and any honey stored there is left for the bees. Mr Bayligne makes these hives himself and sometimes sells them empty for 50 birr (US$3; €2), or with bees for 600 birr (US$33; €25).

Mr Bayligne is not the only urban beekeeper in Bahir Dar. Mr Tilahun Gebey, Director of Bees for Development Ethiopia, recently harvested 42 kg of honey from his top-bar hive. He believes bees in towns benefit from the Eucalyptus trees and ornamental bushes. Mr Gebey explained: “One kg of honeycomb can fetch 70 birr (US$4; €3) and the advantage of beekeeping in town is that the customer is right on the doorstep”.

Mr Kerealem Ejigu (Apiculture Centre Manager of Andassa Livestock Research Centre in Bahir Dar) said: “Environmental degradation and agricultural pollution in rural Ethiopia is severe. It is surprising but true that for many bee colonies the urban environment is more conducive than some rural areas”.

1. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/celebrity-beekeeperstold-to-buzz-off-7854420.html

2. The urban beekeeper - a year of bees in the city by Steve Benbow - available from the BfD webstore.

Keeping bees in towns and cities by Luke Dixon reviewed in Bookshelf page 16