Bees for development Journal 119 June 2016
Interview
Ms Luz Zarsuela Gamba entrepreneurial keeper of stingless bees in Sorsogon Province in the Philippines made you become Q What interested in bees? I am worried that not enough people are aware of bees, and 12 years ago I noticed that slash and burn farmers were destroying stingless bee nests. did you get started with Q How your bee business? I began in 2003 with 38 colonies of European Apis mellifera honey bees, however they did not do well in this climate. did you change from Q Why European bees to stingless
bees? I was recommended to try working with indigenous, stingless bees by Professor Cleo Cervancia of University of the Philippines Los Banos, and by Mr Tio Ompong Palconitin - he was the ‘father’ of beekeeping with stingless bees here, and invented this coconut
shell method of housing them. In 2004 I obtained five colonies of stingless bees, and I asked slash and burn farmers to bring them to me: I bought 30 this way at first, but still every year I pay for every colony brought to me by a slash and burn farmer, and now 1000’s of colonies have been rescued in this way. We also now divide colonies.
Q
How many colonies do you have today? We currently have 2,400 colonies – we lost many during Typhoon Nona in December 2015.
happened! I have experienced a 50% increase in coconut harvest and my neighbours say the same. The bees have had a significant effect. products do you Q What harvest? We harvest pollen, propolis and honey. do you harvest the Q How pollen? We remove a coconut shell and
are the forage sources Q What for these bees? Natural forest and coconut plantations you think the presence Q Do of all these stingless bee
colonies has improved the coconut harvest? This is the best thing that
Colonies of stingless bees are housed in coconut shells and protected from sun and rain by a white painted metal roof 8
