Bees for development
JOURNAL
No 130 March 2019
• SWARMS • VISUAL LEARNING AIDS • SLOW FOOD • HONEY FRAUD STATEMENT • FREE POSTER PULL-OUT
The Journal for sustainable beekeeping 1
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
Dear friends Our cover picture shows the view inside a top-bar hive belonging to Margaret Ano, one of the Mukuyu women beekeepers in Kakamega, Kenya. Margaret made this hive in December and a swarm settled inside in January. In February Jan Koeman was able to take this nice picture, showing how quickly the bees have built combs and developed their colony. A swarm arriving into a freshly-baited hive is the very best way to start a new colony of bees. The hive has already been selected by the scout bees as a good nesting place, and thus the swarm arrives with full enthusiasm to establish their new home here. Every worker bee in the swarm filled up with honey before she left their original nesting place. The honey is for food – and to convert into beeswax with which to build comb on arrival at the new residence. This is how nature intends for new colonies to be created: building comb is healthy behaviour for bees – pathogens and toxins present on the bees or in the honey become incorporated into the wax and rendered safely out of harm’s way for the new eggs and larvae of the developing colony. Thus the new comb provides a perfectly clean nest for the new colony. Safely inside their new hive, the swarm cluster hangs from the ceiling (in this case, the underside of the topbars) with the bees linked together into chains, each bee exuding wax from four pairs of wax glands on the underside of her abdomen. As each tiny droplet of liquid wax solidifies, it forms a pin-head sized ‘scale’ on the surface of her abdomen. The bee now uses her legs and mandibles to pass these scales to the top of the cluster, where bees accumulate and knead them with their mandibles, ready to use as building material.
In this issue
March 2019 page
Natural swarms: a great resource for sustainable beekeeping.......... 3 Noticeboard.................................. 5 Apimondia Honey Fraud Statement...................................... 5 Visual Learning Aids and Beekeeping.................................. 6 New poster from Bees for Development...............................10 Slow Food’s Ark of Taste Welcomes Milestone Passenger 12 FAQs............................................13 News............................................14 Look Ahead..................................17 Book Shelf....................................18 Apimondia...................................20 Bees for Development Journal Produced quarterly and sent to readers in over 130 countries Editor: Nicola Bradbear PhD Co-ordinator: Helen Jackson BSc Subscriptions cost £26 per year - see page 19 for ways to pay
Towards the end of the hive in our cover picture, you can see a locally made queen excluder. Beekeepers sometimes endeavour to make top-bar hives resemble frame hives by attempting to make queen excluders for top-bar hives – yet they are unnecessary and never work well. In this case there are fortunately still plenty of gaps and the queen will not be obstructed, as is essential for a newly developing colony like this. A major benefit of a top-bar hive compared with a frame hive is being easy to make and low cost – adding things like queen excluders just adds cost and makes life more complicated for the bees and the beekeeper! With thanks to Jan Koeman for this beautiful picture. And you can read more about attracting and working with swarms in the article opposite.
Nicola Bradbear Director, Bees for Development
Readers in developing countries may apply for a sponsored subscription: complete the form online at www.beesfordevelopment.org Bees for Development Works to assist beekeepers in developing countries. Bees for Development Trust gratefully acknowledge: Alan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, Artemis Charitable Trust, E H Thorne (Beehives) Ltd, Ethiopiaid, Hub Cymru Africa, Millom Rotary Club, National Lottery Community Fund, Neal’s Yard Remedies, Red Rivers Food, Rowse Honey Ltd, Stroud Buzz Club, The Rotary Foundation, UK Aid Direct, The Waterloo Foundation, Welsh Government, Yasaeng Beekeeping Supplies and many other kind organisations and individuals. Copyright You are welcome to translate and/or reproduce items appearing in Bees for Development Journal as part of our Information Service. Permission is given on the understanding that the Journal and author(s) are acknowledged, our contact details are provided in full, and you send us a copy of the item or the website address where it is used.
Bees for development 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Tel: +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org
Cover photo © Jan Koeman-Mukuyu Farmers Kenya
Issue 130
At first a few tiny mounds of beeswax are deposited on the ceiling, gradually increasing and built into the sophisticated, delicate, double-sided hexagonal matrix of comb – one of nature’s miracles! When the first comb has been built sufficiently to be a few inches wide and a few inches long, bees start building adjacent combs. The bees keep building comb over the days and weeks ahead until they have sufficient for the colony’s needs – for rearing brood and for storing honey, or until the cavity is full of comb – whichever situation first arises.
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING – tips from the field
Natural swarms: a great resource for sustainable beekeeping Kwame Aidoo, Bees for Development Ghana and Janet Lowore, Bees for Development UK Wild honey bee colonies and natural swarms
Swarming is the reproductive process of honey bee colonies. It occurs when conditions in the environment are conducive for colony build up and development. This period coincides with the honey flow season when the nest becomes full with bees, honey and bee bread. The nest space is congested, such that the colony needs more space. The swarming process is initiated and the colony divides: one half issues out and relocates in a cavity far away. The departing bees are a swarm, and if it is the first swarm of the season it is called a prime swarm. Prior to this condition, the queen lays many eggs to boost the colony’s population. Queen cells are built, sometimes up to ten. The queen cells can be identified in the congested nest looking like ground nut (peanut) pods. The developing queen larvae are provisioned with abundant royal jelly for 5 days and the cells are then sealed by worker bees until a young, virgin queen emerges 16 days after the egg was laid. Just before the young queens emerge, the old queen leaves the nest with about half of the bees. This prime swarm settles temporarily on a branch of a nearby tree, before moving to the new cavity which the swarm will settle and develop into a full colony. Meanwhile in the original colony, the first young queen to emerge will destroy her sibling queens and inherits the colony from her recentlydeparted mother. She goes out on a nuptial flight a few days later to mate with drones from other colonies in a congregation area high up in the sky. She returns to the nest and begins to lay eggs to build up the colony.
Figure 2. A swarm box set on the trunk of a tree
The swarming season
Photos © Kwame Aidoo
The time of the swarming season depends on the vegetation and climatic conditions of the area. Usually the swarming period coincides with the first few months of the honey flow season. Colonies which survive the dearth period build up quickly using abundant floral resources. In tropical West Africa, the swarming season begins from the end of the rainy season in July-August and continues to JanuaryFebruary.
Figure 1. A swarm box on a top-bar hive
Figure 3a. Application of a pulley system to set a swarm box high up in a tree 3
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
• The size and volume must be large enough for an average swarm size (about one-third the volume of the hive in use); • It should be easy to handle and move from one place to another; • Its components, especially top-bars and/or frames must be compatible with the hives of the beekeeper (Figure 1). Swarms can be trapped into hives or swarm boxes by the following steps: 1. Clean the swarm box or bait hive, preferably wash with water only (no soap) and dry 2. Rub the inside of the box with any of the following baiting materials: a. Beeswax Figure 3b. Swarm boxes set in tree canopies attract swarms quickly
b. Propolis
Absconding
d. Oils from Citrus fruits as found on the rind (orange, lemon, lime, tangerine, etc)
c. Herbs such as lemon grass, some mints
Absconding and swarming are different. Stressed colonies may evacuate their nests at any time when conditions in and outside the nests become unbearable. Colonies raided by honey hunters may leave their plundered nest and abscond. Such absconding colonies may seek out empty hives located by beekeepers, in much the same way as swarms do.
e. Oils from leaves of citrus plants f. Other herbs and preparations known to local beekeepers. Set the baited swarm box on the stem or branch of a pest-free tree (Figure 2). The higher the swarm box is placed, the better the chances of attracting a swarm. In view of this, some beekeepers apply the pulley system to place the swarm boxes in the top of tree canopies (Figure. 3a). The pulley method allows flying swarms to find swarm boxes easily. Swarms also face less enemy disturbance at the top of trees than at ground level. The method is effective and results can be quick (Figure 3b).
Stocking hives with natural honey bee swarms Wild bee colonies in every locality will have developed, by natural selection, survival characteristics that enable them to perform well in their environment. Their genetics have developed over the years and are fine tuned to survive the range of environmental conditions found in that area. They can survive attacks from pests, diseases, and parasites. Local swarms are therefore regarded as the best source of bees for sustainable and natural beekeeping.
Make regular visits (at least once a week) to the baited boxes to check for the arrival of swarms. If a box is not colonised, open it and check for ants, lizards, spiders and other pests. Clean the box and re-bait it.
Methods of obtaining natural swarms
A natural honey bee swarm can be attracted to occupy empty hives, baited with suitable materials and located in an appropriate place. It is rare for beekeepers to achieve full occupancy of all their hives by relying on the bees to voluntarily take up residence in every single vacant hive. Beekeepers use the following additional methods to attract swarms during the swarming season:
When a swarm box is occupied by a swarm, move it
Capture a swarm There are many ways a beekeeper can collect a swarm of bees found hanging in a tree. It is possible to use any kind of suitable container (basket, cardboard box etc) and once collected, the bees can be settled into a hive in an apiary. When transferring a swarm into a receiving receptacle the key thing is to treat the clump of bees as a single unit and gently knock or sweep the bees into the receptacle ‘at one go’. Swarms should be relocated into hives as soon as possible. The method used depends on the beekeeper’s ingenuity and the way the swarm settled in the tree. Trap a swarm using a swarm box or bait hive A beekeeper seeking to obtain many swarms to stock his/her new hives needs to use swarm boxes or bait hives. For construction of swarm boxes:
Figure 4. Transporting two colonies of bees in swarm boxes with the greatest care 4
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
to the apiary as soon as possible. If a swarm has been in the bait hive for several days, it is likely that it will have started building combs. These are very fragile. Swarm relocation should be done in the evening when all foragers have returned. Precautions must be taken to handle the colony gently to avoid breaking newly built combs (Figure 4). When reaching the apiary, place the colonised box on top of a hive and inspect the nest for any broken combs. If there are any, fix them on to top-bars. Allow them to settle down for a few days before transferring into the hive. Take all precautions (such as the control of pests) to help the young colony to establish quickly.
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Figure 5. Setting swarm boxes in trees on a cashew farm
NOTICE BOARD FUNDING OPPORTUNITY The Rome 1% Fund offers grants of up to US$ 5,000 (€4,500) for small-scale beekeeping projects and is making a call for proposals from community groups in the Caribbean, Latin America, and south-west Pacific. Applications can be made online at www.one-percent-fund.net
DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe – applications only accepted upon invitation. To discuss your project idea with one of our team members first write to cepf-eam-rit@birdlife.org AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL The oldest English language beekeeping publication in the world. See a digital copy and subscribe at www.americanbeejournal.com
AWARD A professional development programme that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. See www.awardfellowships.org
BEE CRAFT UK Beekeeping Journal for beginners and seasoned apiarists. View a digital copy and subscribe at www.bee-craft.com BEE CULTURE The magazine of American beekeeping. Today’s techniques. Tomorrow’s ideas. US$15 (€13) for a digital subscription. See www.BeeCulture.com
HOTSPOT Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot Call. Small grants (maximum US$10,000 (€8,800)) in Burundi,
Honey Fraud Statement becomes available that the group becomes aware of.
Published in January 2019 the APIMONDIA Statement on Honey Fraud is the official position of APIMONDIA (the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations) regarding honey purity, authenticity and the best available recommended methods to detect fraud.
The Working Group will ensure through consultation with the leading honey scientists, technical experts, specialist honey laboratories or others with sufficient market knowledge, that the Statement is reflective of the most up-to-date information and collective thinking on the topic.
The Statement aims to be a trusted source for authorities, consumers, manufacturers, retailers, supermarkets, traders, and other stakeholders of the honey trade chain to ensure they stay updated with the developments of testing methodologies regarding honey purity and authenticity.
Due to the dynamic nature of honey fraud, this Statement is intended to be reviewed and updated periodically, and every time significant scientific advances occur in any of the fields covered by the document. Updates will be published on the APIMONDIA website and other appropriate publications.
The APIMONDIA Working Group on Adulteration of Bee Products will be the responsible body for the preparation and reviewing of this Statement at yearly intervals or whenever significant new information
To see the full statement, see www.apimondia.com/en 5
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
Visual Learning Aids and Beekeeping Darcy Gray, Beekeeping Specialist, Project Renitantely, SEED Madagascar, Fort Dauphin, Madagascar Background
SEED Madagascar is a sustainable development organisation in southeast Madagascar taking a holistic approach to diversifying livelihoods and incentivising conservation practice. One Project, Renitantely (means honey bee in Malagasy), empowers farmers to conserve the indigenous honey bee race Apis mellifera unicolor through education and the financial incentives of honey and wax production. To effectively communicate beekeeping skills and biology to an often-illiterate audience who lack formal education, the team has developed Visual Learning Aids to explain concepts using creative imagery and few words.
The Project is training 78 beekeepers from six communities, Fokontany, in the Anosy region. In this region, wild and managed colonies are suffering dramatic losses from Varroa destructor, compounded by widespread deforestation which eliminates forage for the bees.
Training workshops
To give beekeepers robust beekeeping skills, the Project runs workshops in each community on: • Hive construction • The life cycle of the honey bee • Populating hives • Keeping healthy colonies • Disease and pest management
Drawings © Harriet Stigler
• Honey and wax harvesting
In a VLA designed by Harriet Stigler, the changing jobs of honey bees in a hive are depicted alongside typical responsibilities of Malagasy women 6
Drawings © Harriet Stigler
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
One VLA shows the life cycle of Varroa These workshops are planned by the Project team including Malagasy and international staff who work to integrate global best practice with cultural context. The team’s technicians deliver the workshops with dynamic presentations encouraging discussion and questions.
Visual Learning Aids (VLAs) and started researching the topics and drawing them. “Paper is a precious resource in the remote bush and we found that a simple diagram would quickly be repurposed to use as rolling paper or fuel. Using detailed, colourful drawings not only helped to overcome language and literacy barriers, but they helped also to engage audiences and were taken care of long-term,” she explains.
Illiteracy and education
The literacy rate in rural communities of this region is 41%. This presents a challenge for the Renitantely team since the Project strives for the training workshops to have lasting educational benefits yet is unable to give written resources for people to use later. Drawings © Darcy Gray
Few people in these rural areas have completed school, as none of the six communities has a high school. Therefore it is unfair to expect the baseline understanding of biology assumed by many beekeeping training resources.
The beekeeping year
Visual learning aids
In 2016 the team came up with a creative solution to use innovative educational resources with easily understandable imagery to communicate beekeeping concepts to an illiterate audience. Harriet Stigler worked as the international beekeeping specialist during the Project’s first year; she advocated the use of 7
Drawings © Harriet Stigler
Drawings © Darcy Gray
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
How to use sugar to monitor Varroa in the hive
A VLA shows how to make a frame feeder filled with sugar water, specifically designed using an old rum bottle and other accessible materials
The VLAs are now used in all of Project Renitantely’s training workshops, and everyone receives laminated copies to take home. Designing these technical VLAs involves breaking the process down into simple steps that can be diagrammed in an intuitive image. Using little or no writing, the first set of VLAs demonstrate concepts about the life cycle of the honey bee and other basics of beekeeping. The next set shows beekeepers the Varroa mite and the effects of infestation. Now the team has rolled out two additional sets of VLAS explaining methods to populate hives and how to maintain a healthy colony.
a great atmosphere in meetings and a supportive learning environment. Another challenge is that to offer sustainable education, the images must depict materials that can be constructed or found locally. For example, the VLA demonstrating capturing a swarm does not depict a plastic or high-tech queen cage, but rather a mint box with holes drilled into it, as this is what local beekeepers use as a queen cage. In this way, the Project tries to take advantage of local knowledge, learning how people traditionally perform a beekeeping task and what materials are used. This ensures that the beekeepers will find them realistic enough to be helpful.
Considering cultural context
The most challenging and fascinating aspect of designing VLAs is that to be effective, they must consider the unique cultural and educational context of the Anosy region. Often the best way for people to learn about a new concept is to have it described in familiar terms. The VLAs attempt to do this in ways specific to the region. For example, one VLA shows the changing jobs of worker bees with age in relation to common jobs of rural Malagasy women. During the training workshops, this often leads to lots of laughter and helps people to see beekeeping from their own point of view. According to Stigler, the educational drawings were a source of humour which created
VLAs and gender
Photo © Darcy Gray
Drawings © Darcy Gray
An important aspect of the Project is to empower women through the use of beekeeping as a sustainable livelihood. Seventy-one percent of our newest cohort of beekeepers are women, and the Project includes gender equity workshops. In Madagascar beekeeping is less gendered than other occupations yet is still viewed largely a man’s activity. There is a misconception among rural communities here that women are afraid of bees and incapable of climbing trees to gather a swarm or
Making sure to depict only materials which are available to beekeepers locally, this VLA shows how to capture a swarm and cage the queen
In a community apiary local beekeeping technician Victoire uses the VLA to describe how to capture a wild colony 8
Drawings © Darcy Gray
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
perform other beekeeping activities. To encourage women in the Project and reinforce the point that anyone can be a beekeeper, the team designed the new class of VLAs to depict women beekeepers. The aim is for participants to repeatedly see the image of a woman completing these activities which will help erode stereotypes and give women confidence to pursue beekeeping.
Photo © Darcy Gray
As a reference for beekeepers to understand how to keep healthy colonies, this VLA points out elements of a good bee hive compared to a bad one. A fence to keep out animals and birds, no holes or cracks, and elevated hive base are all good
Feedback
During the Project’s most recent survey, all the beekeepers responded positively about the VLAs, that they are helpful both for learning the topics and for reference. Alfons, a Project beekeeper in the Fokontany of Sainte Luce, said he used the step-bystep guides outlined in the VLAs to remind him how to correctly split a colony without assistance. Children attend a workshop where VLAs are used to explain bee hive maintenance We are eager to share these resources with other organisations and would love to hear about other uses of VLAs in beekeeping. Please contact darcy.gray@seedmadagascar.org if you are interested! 9
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Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
Slow Food’s Ark of Taste Welcomes Milestone Passenger
organised by Slow Food in the capital Ouagadougou. Despite serious challenges from the threat of terrorist attacks, local activists decided to go ahead with the event to show that good, clean and fair food can be a force for peace. Slow Food delegates came from across Burkina Faso and from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo to participate in the gathering which is making the Slow Food network in West Africa stronger than ever. Choosing Tapoa honey as the 5,000th Ark product sends a strong message of solidarity with all the farmers and food producers who are defending their food traditions, and therefore food biodiversity, despite the growing difficulties they face due to the terrorism and political instability affecting some African countries. It is also significant that the product is made by bees, whose declining populations are one of the clearest indicators of the risks we face as human activity continues to throw natural equilibriums off-balance.
Slow Food’s features forgotten and endangered foods that belong to the local culture, history and tradition of places all over the planet. The Ark of Taste groups them into categories – animal breeds, fruits, vegetables, baked goods, cheeses and so on – and serves as a unique resource for anyone interested in rediscovering the heritage of food biodiversity that humans have accumulated over the centuries. Honey produced by the Gourmantché people of Tapoa region of Burkina Faso has been selected by Slow Food as the 5,000th passenger to board its Ark of Taste.
Work is being done on the honey with the Gourmantché people thanks to the Fondazioni for Africa Burkina Faso and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. Local beekeepers have joined together into the Tapoa Honey Producers’ Association, which runs a honeyprocessing facility in Diapaga, the provincial capital, and ensures that honey is of good quality and sold at a price that is fair for producers. The growing dangers caused by the country’s political situation are slowing the projects run in Tapoa by the NGO ACRA, which had started a marketing project for the Tapoa honey.
Slow Food has selected this honey, of particular importance to the identity of the indigenous Gourmantché people, as a sign of support for the country’s local communities. Terra Madre Burkina Faso was held for the second time on 2-3 February,
Tapoa honey
Honey is of great importance within the Gourmantché tradition, used in celebrations to mark the life of the community, in religious and animist rituals and
Photos © Fondazione ACRA
Tapoa honey on display at Terra Madre Burkina Faso held in Ouagadougou in February
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Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
in traditional medicine. It is an ingredient in classic preparations like boulli, a porridge made from grains; eau blanche, a non-alcoholic drink offered to guests on their arrival; and dolo-miel, a fermented drink made from millet and baobab flour. In the arid savannah, the bees Apis mellifera adansonii gather nectar from many different plants, producing an excellent multifloral honey as well as highly fragrant single varieties from trees including shea, tamarind and the rare Daniella oliveri. Source: www.slowfood.com/ark-of-taste-welcomes5000th-passenger Local style hive used by the Gourmantché people from which they harvest Tapoa honey
Ark of Taste
network around the world. At local levels, Slow Food members and supporters, artisans, chefs, and local markets adopt the Ark of Taste product, organise events with producers, use it in recipes and highlight it on menus, activating a promotional circuit often based on gastronomic word of mouth. Through the Ark of Taste, Slow Food is working to save the planet’s biodiversity.
Launched in 1996 at the first Salone del Gusto in Turin, the Ark of Taste includes many foods that are a key element within the culture of indigenous people. Inclusion in the online catalogue of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity is the first step in ensuring that these products are not lost forever. This is supported by the actions and creativity of Slow Food’s
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) Finding Funding
What is bee bread?
Many people write to us at Bees for Development requesting funding to start a beekeeping project. We are not a funding organisation, however we do offer much useful information on our website Resource Centre which can assist with setting up projects – including preparing a proposal and finding funding. Here in BfD Journal we include useful information on funding opportunities. Please consider whether you really need funding from an external source. Another approach to mobilising funding for a community group might be to establish a Village Savings and Loan Group (VSLG). Why not encourage community members to form a savings club to support local saving and borrowing? This can work well for beekeepers. In Ethiopia, Plan International have been developing VSLGs and Bees for Development Ethiopia have been working with them to combine training in beekeeping skills and knowledge, with a savings and loans mechanism.
Many articles refer to ‘bee bread’ – but what is it? A forager bee flies back to her nest with pollen that she has collected and carefully combed and pushed into the hairs that form the pollen baskets on her two back legs. Each pollen load may weigh 10–20 mg! On arrival at the brood nest, the forager deposits each pollen load into a cell. Now the house bees take over: they moisten the pollen with honey and use their heads to push the pollen down into the cell. When the cell is full of pollen (and it may contain pollen of different colours from different flower species), it is covered with a thin layer of honey. Now the pollen undergoes mild fermentation, brought on by yeasts: this helps to breakdown the tough pollen coat, makes it more easily digestible and helps to preserve it too. Pollen stored by bees in comb is named ‘bee bread’ and is vital for good honey bee nutrition.
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TELL US YOUR STORY We accept articles and short reports on new or improved beekeeping techniques, information about bees and beekeeping in your country and your events. We welcome your comments and responses to articles we have published. Articles should be 800–1,600 words in length and accompanied by images. Items can be sent by post or in email text or attachment in Word of pdf format. We accept images as colour prints or digitally saved as jpeg files. Images sized for website use are not suitable for printing. If it is not possible to include your submission in the Journal we may place it on our website. All the information material we receive is added to our databank on beekeeping worldwide.
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
CAMEROON We have been training throughout the whole country but especially in the North West, South West and Central Regions to encourage beekeepers who ceased working due to the continued national crisis.
Photos © BERUDA
NEWS
We carried out three major trainings sessions to raise awareness within the community around Bamenda and enabled people to have a stable source of income. We appreciated the teaching materials we received from Bees for Development which have been of great help to us and our community. Ngwainmbi Simon Chia, Executive Director, BERUDA, Bamenda We were invited by Cameroon Gender and Environmental Watch to provide training on honey harvesting, bottling and reinstalling hives when broken
Moving hives to a new site
Setting up a hive after training
Trainees received certificates after completing the course
GHANA
funding to purchase beekeeping materials for our apiaries. The training provided for the women has helped them in significantly reducing poverty in their households and improving their livelihoods. The training included: making top-bar hives, harvesting honey using smokers, making veils, colony management, wax extraction and rendering and pollen and propolis harvesting.
Rural women empowerment through beekeeping One hundred and seventy-seven rural women in the five poorest communities in the northern region of Ghana thank Bees for Development for giant support! We were advised to apply to FAO and were successful in obtaining
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Top-bar hives under Acacia trees for shelter
Honey is used for treating mental illnesses, wounds and chronic sicknesses and as a diet supplement. The women use proceeds from sales of honey and wax to pay school fees and purchase learning materials for their children’s education. Development Concern Centre is appealing for funding to help the
INDIA Collective beekeeping is an initiative to conserve honey bees as important pollinators, and to improve the livelihoods of forest dependent and indigenous communities through better processing techniques, value addition, eco-labelling and direct market linkages and to encourage augmentation of bee flora. In February a meeting held at Parna Western Ghats Farmer
Training included making hives and equipment women from the remaining ten community rural women’s groups who have come forward asking for training. Thank you, FAO and Bees for Development for empowering our poorest rural women.
Producer Company discussed apiary management, marketing, branding and packaging and quality standards. It was decided to purchase a honey extracting machine and obtain food certification FSSAI for the honey. Materials from the resource box provided by Bees for Development were displayed and youngsters introduced to the bee collective initiatives, (as described in the article in BfD Journal 129)
Amadu Hudu, Executive Director, Development Concern Centre, Tamale If you are able to help, please contact Amadu Hudu via Bees for Development
Photos © Narasimha Hegde
Before the training the women used fire to kill the bees before they could harvest the honey, often contaminating the honey with the process. Honey was overheated in the combs and water added to it, which meant the honey did not keep and was wasted. After training bees are conserved and the honey is pure and free from contamination. The bees are pollinating crops on the community farms and our Acacia trees where the top-bar hives are sited.
Photos © Development Concern Centre
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
Narasimha Hegde, Sirsi, Karnataka, India
RODRIGUES I am writing from a seriously damaged Rodrigues. On the evening of 9 February Cyclone Galena struck the island with full force. We had been on alert for some days as this intense tropical cyclone tracked southeast between Mauritius and Rodrigues. We hoped that the full force of the cyclone would pass us by, but unfortunately not. Severe conditions began at 2000 hours Saturday evening, and the Class 4 warning was not lifted until 1200 hours Sunday, with wind speeds of over 160 km/h recorded. The Island’s infrastructure has been badly affected, with roads blocked by fallen trees.
Ricarsley (holding frame) is assisted by Head Beekeeper Eric (with smoker) working at Care-Co’s second apiary at Petit Gabriel, where six hives are sited on rented land 15
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
Communications were damaged and power lines brought down as pylons snapped. The farming and agriculture sectors have been badly affected and in some places crop plantations and animal farms wiped out. Here at Care-Co our buildings have all been constructed to withstand cyclones, however our apiary at Petit Gabriel in the hills was damaged. We have removed fallen trees and reset hives on stands, and fortunately the bees were not lost. After a week Care-Co is returning to normal. Our workers, school staff and parents are comparing notes on what has been lost and how the cyclone has affected them. Cyclones are a regular occurrence here, and we have learned to live with them: the other months of the year are made up of beautiful tropical warm and sunny weather. The honey harvest was poor this year, and the effects of the cyclone on the nectar sources do not bode
ZIMBABWE FAO has been implementing a four-year (EU funded) project to improve food security of vulnerable rural communities through participatory sustainable forest management and value addition to forest products. The Forest Forces Project established the correlation between forest management and a thriving honey production business which provides a livelihood source and a sustainable business for
Paul Draper (left) makes notes for the beekeeping log book. In the background are Eric and Ricarsley. This Apiary is in the hills and was badly damaged by the cyclone - no leaves on the trees and branches down everywhere. We have cleared it up and the bees are busy and are being fed well for any hope of improvement next season. However, our apiaries are in good shape as we have a programme of feeding the bees during crisis periods in nature.
Paul Draper, Care-Co & the Trevor Huddleston Association for the Disabled (Rodrigues), Camp du Roi
communities. A Project video* tells the story of Njovana, a beekeeper who understands that every tree that survives - can mean the income difference that sustains his family, and allows his children to go to school, while at the same time supporting his local beekeeping community.
linkages and training provided by the Project. The stories illustrated in the video are just examples of the hundreds of farmers in Zimbabwe who have been assisted by the Forest Forces Project to establish successful honey production enterprises, making their dreams become a reality.
His neighbour -Benjamin Chatamuka started with nine hives that expanded to 260 hives in less than three years. He attributes this rapid growth to the market
* www.youtube.com/watch?time_ continue=9&v=z1R_MRoBRgQ Source: NWFP Update January 2019 / Issue #15
SUPPORT FOR TRAINING BfD Training Booklets and Training Cards are for use by beekeeper trainers in Africa.
Each booklet provides one day of training on one topic. The cards provide pictures and plans illustrating techniques discussed in the booklets. These are included in our Resource Boxes for training events and workshops. Projects and associations in developing countries are welcome to apply for a Sponsored Resource Box by filling out an application form on our website, or request the form by email. Projects in other areas can purchase Resource Boxes through our website store.
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Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
LOOK AHEAD BRAZIL
BBKA Spring Convention 12-14 April 2019, Harper Adams University Further details www.bbka.org.uk
XXV IUFRO World Congress 29 September – 5 October 2019, Curitiba Further details www.iufro2019.com
Conwy Honey Fair 13 September 2019, Conwy Further details www.conwybeekeepers.org.uk
CANADA APIMONDIA: 46th International Apicultural Congress 8-12 September 2019, Montréal Further details www.apimondia2019mtl.com
Scottish Beekeepers Annual Convention 14 September 2019, Aberdeen Further details www.scottishbeekeepers.org.uk 88th National Honey Show 24-26 October 2019, Sandown Park Racecourse Further details www.honeyshow.co.uk
EL SALVADOR XVI Congreso Centroamericano y del Caribe de integración y actualización apícola/ XVI Central American and Caribbean Congress of beekeeping integration and improvement 29-31 May 2019, Sonsonate Further details congresofedeccapi2019es@gmail.com
USA Foundations of Biodynamic Beekeeping 21 February – 15 August 2019, Online Futher details www.biodynamics.com
GERMANY
If you want notice of your conference, workshop or meeting to be included here and on our website, send details to Bees for Development.
Learning from the Bees Workshop and Conference 29 August - 1 September 2019, Berlin Further details www.learningfromthebeesberlin.com
IRELAND
BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT EVENTS
Federation of Irish Beekeepers Conference and Annual Beekeeping Summer Course 11-16 August 2019, Gormanston Further details www.irishbeekeeping.ie
Sustainable Beekeeping Course 6-7 April and 12-13 October 2019 Ragman’s Lane Farm, GL17 9PA Further details www.bit.ly/sustainablebfd
MALTA International Symposium on Bee Products 7-10 May 2019, Silema Further details msdec.gov.mt/en/beeCongress
Monmouth Bee Festival 19 May 2019, The Nelson Garden, Monmouth Further details BfDOffice@beesfordevelopment.org
KENYA
Bee Garden Party 12 June 2019, London Further details www.beesfd.org/beegardenparty
Certificate course Entrepreneurship in apiculture in East Africa Baraka Agricultural College, Molo Further details www.sustainableagri.org
Straw Skep Making Course 15 June 2019, Peterstow, Hereford Further details www.bit.ly/Straw2019
RUSSIA Eurasian IV Symposium on Hymenoptera September 2019, Vladivostok Further details www.pages.biosoil.ru/hymenoptera2019
Willow Skep Weaving Course 29 June 2019, Peterstow, Hereford Further details www.bit.ly/Willow2019 Hackle and Floor Making Course 28 July 2019, Peterstow, Hereford Further details www.bit.ly/hacklefloor2019
SLOVENIA 10 International Meeting of Young Beekeepers 3-9 July 2019, Banksa Bysstica Further details www.icyb.cz th
Bees for Development
TANZANIA
Bee Safaris
BSc Beekeeping Science & Technology University of Dar es Salaam Further details www.coasft.udsm.ac.tz
Bee Safari to Ethiopia 2-12 November 2019 Further details www.bit.ly/EthiopiaSafari2019
UK Welsh Beekeepers Annual Convention 30 March 2019, Builth Wells Further details mertyndowning@btinternet.com
Bee Safari to Trinidad & Tobago 3-13 February 2020 Further details www.bit.ly/TrinidadTobago2020 17
Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
BOOKSHELF The secrets of bees – an insider’s guide to the life of honeybees Michael Weiler 2019 (revised edition) translated by David Heaf 159 pages Softcover This is a modest yet excellent text offering an enlightened description of how honey bees live, based on Michael Weiler’s years of experience and accurate observation. His beekeeping has been informed by comprehending the behaviour of bees, aiming always for a mutually supportive relationship. The 20 chapters describe the year in a life of a colony, explaining so many aspects of bees’ lives, clearly and excellently, and finishing with a chapter on the power of honey for bees and people. If each honey bee was paid at £8 per hour, one jar of honey should cost £100,000! An Appendix by Günther Friedman explains Demeter beekeeping, a natural way of managing bees that allows bees to swarm and to build their own combs, at least in the brood nest. The text is accompanied by excellent black and white black photographs and drawings from many sources. A wonderful book for bee keepers and admirers.
Pot-pollen in stingless bee melittology Patricia Vit, Silva RM Pedro & David W Roubik (eds) 2018 481 pages Hardcover Meliponini – stingless bees – store their honey in cerumen pots made within the colony. Pot-pollen is the other product that is stored in these pots by these bees. This book with contributions from scientists and experts studying stingless bees and meliponiculture gives an insight into pot-pollen which supports the stingless bees, and its many interesting biological characteristics that are only now beginning to be understood by scientists.
Keeping honey bees – Storey’s guide Malcolm T Sanford & Richard E Bonney 2018 (2nd edition) 212 pages Softcover A brightly illustrated book introducing beekeeping as practised in North America. Chapters cover the origins and history of beekeeping, honey bee life cycle, getting started (equipment and hive location) and colony management. The final chapter “Additional strategies” recognises that many people are looking at less intense hive systems and information about top-bar hives, horizontal hives and the People’s Warré hive is provided.
Honeybee hobbyist – the care and keeping of bees Norman Gary 2018 224 pages Softcover A beautifully presented book full of fabulous pictures and illustrations. Norman Gary began beekeeping at the age of 15 and gained his PhD in Apiculture at Cornell University (USA). He draws on a diversity of experiences including commercial beekeeping, research and teaching, apiary inspection, and working as a professional entertainer (bees and music!) – Norman has been a professional bee wrangler for 18 Hollywood movies and over 70 TV productions. Full of clear descriptions and highlighted ‘tips’ the book explains bee behaviour, describes the workings of a colony and honey bee biology, how to monitor hive conditions and deal with diseases, keeping bees in urban areas, entertaining with bees using observation hives, and teaching children the ways of North American beekeeping.
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Bees for Development Journal 130 March 2019
BOOKSHELF BeeCabulary Essentials Andrew Connor 2018 234 pages Softcover Another beautiful book about bees and North American beekeeping. The author insists that even though he grew up surrounded by bees and other insects (his father is entomologist and beekeeper Larry Connor) beekeeping was not what he wanted to do. Eventually he “discovered bees for himself” and became just as passionate about these amazing insects. Andrew wrote this book to share knowledge and help others: it is a very comprehensive guide covering bee anatomy, behaviour and management, hive products and types of both hives and bee keepers (there are seven!).
Foraging afar – tales from a decade of beekeeping around the world William Blomstedt 2018 253 pages Softcover This is a well-written, interesting, honest and fresh book about world beekeeping. For a decade William Blomstedt travelled the world visiting and working with beekeepers in many nations and discovering how they operate. The result is a compelling story of his travel experiences and discoveries. Ultimately, he settles in Slovenia – that great nation of beekeepers. This book is testament to the many different ways that people worldwide build livelihoods around bees. Highly recommended.
Bees and the ancient mysteries Iwer Thor Lorenzen. Translated from German by Paul King 2018 59 pages Softcover This book begins with a description of the `Logos mysteries’, based at the ancient temple of Artemis in Ephesus, where priestesses were known as Melissas (honey bees) and the sacrificial priests were called Essenes or `bee-kings’. Lorenzen (1895-1976) was a believer in Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner postulating the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. He became known for his love and knowledge of beekeeping particularly amongst biodynamic farmers. Lorenzen discusses flowers and insects, describing the beginnings of the honey bee, its connection with the fig wasp and the subsequent transformation that took place. This concise, difficult work features a helpful foreword by Heidi Hermann of the Natural Beekeeping Trust.
Artist to bee speaker – 50 tales of Paula Carnell’s journey Paula Carnell 2019 101 pages Hardcover Paula Carnell was a successful artist whose life changed when she became ill. Bees arrived with Paula when she was wheelchair bound. She gradually recovered and is now a full-time bee consultant and speaker. She travels the world learning about where bees and humans live in unity and spreading the message that what is kills bees is killing us too! This book gives 50 tales from her journey.
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BEE PRESENT TO APIMONDIA 2019 EVENT SEE YOU IN MONTRÉAL
FROM THE 8TH TO THE 12TH SEPTEMBER 2019
Bees for Development, 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Telephone +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org © Bees for Development 2019 ISSN 1477-6588 Printed on environmentally friendly paper
