Bees for Development Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
JOURNAL
No 136 September 2020
• COPING WITH COVID • BEE NATURAL • AFRICANISED BEES • MAASAI HONEY
The Journal for sustainable beekeeping 1
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Dear friends Climate change, Covid and our imperative to be highly cost effective, are rapidly changing the ways that Bees for Development seeks to best serve beekeepers in the poorest nations. For these past months we have been enjoying weekly Zoom meetings with many of our partner organisations, and this has opened for us new ways of seeing and sharing, and new ways of working together. Starting next month we invite 500 of you to join us too – to think about Beeswax Trade on 7 October – see details of how to join on page 18. This edition of BfD Journal 136 again arrives electronically in your in-box because the world’s postal systems remain in disarray. We are aware that many of you are missing the paper copies for use in training events. At a summer natural beekeeping event in Italy - Tom Seeley’s instructions for using bee lining to find wild nesting honey bee colonies was put to good use. Now a new Resilient Bee Project has been initiated to create a network of guardian beekeepers being watchful of precious wild honey bee colonies. Read more from page 3. Gladstone Solomon reports on the Africanised honey bee collectors of Trinidad (page 7), and page 10 brings news of beekeeping empowering Maasai women in Tanzania. We bring you much other news too, with reports from our beekeeping friends worldwide, still working during Covid.
BfD Connect
Reaching people who are otherwise out of touch. We are providing regular Broadcasts via WhatsApp for you to receive on your phone. These Broadcasts provide links to more topics. You must sign up to receive these Broadcasts. We encourage you to engage with us this way. You can reply to Broadcasts, send us your news, information, photos and videos for future Broadcasts. BfD Connect enables you to promote your projects and events to a wide audience. Sign up at www.beesfordevelopment.org/ourwork/bfd-connect/
Issue 136 September 2020 In this issue
page
Italian beekeepers set out to find, protect and learn from those living free....................... 3 Trees Bees Use......................... 6 Africanised honey bee removals in Trinidad................ 7 Maasai women beekeepers in Tanzania..............................10 News.......................................12 Bookshelf................................16 Look Ahead.............................17 The Global Hive......................18 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 £30 per year – see page16 for ways to pay Readers in developing countries may apply for a sponsored subscription. Apply 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, Bees for Development North America, Briogeo, Charles Hayward Foundation, Didymus Charity, E H Thorne (Beehives) Ltd, Ethiopiaid, Healing Herbs, Hiscox Foundation, Hub Cymru Africa, Millom Rotary Club, National Lottery Community Fund UK, Neal’s Yard Remedies, Rowse Honey Ltd, UK Aid Direct, Wales and Africa: Welsh Government,Yasaeng Beekeeping Supplies and many other generous 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
Image © Milan Wiercx van Rhijn
Nicola Bradbear Director, Bees for Development
Cover picture: A beautiful portrait of an Apis mellifera worker bee, by Bees for Development’s Project Manager Milan Wiercx van Rhijn. Honey bees have beautiful eyes, a total of five to be exact. Two are compound eyes that help her see the world, and three smaller ocelli help her navigate using polarised light. Amazing!
1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Tel: +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Italian beekeepers set out to find, protect and learn from those living free Giacomo Ciriello, Project Manager, Bees for Development It was unusual and inspiring to attend an event for beekeepers where so many of the conversations were about bees living free of them. In its second year, the Bee Natural Festival was an open yet close gathering. We spent the weekend around a beautifully diverse apiary in woodland, uphill from Montebello di Bertona, a small town on the edge of the Gran Sasso National Park, Abruzzo in Italy. Engaging talks by researchers, activists and seasoned beekeepers gave way to expert demonstrations with colonies homed in various hive types.
Five, ten then fifteen minutes and still no sign of the bees returning. This was upsetting. Tom Seeley writes that: “If the bees are gone more than 15 minutes, then things are pretty hopeless because the bee tree is probably more than 2.5km away. Bees are not likely to recruit nest mates over such a great distance, so probably you will never get a heavy traffic of bees at your comb.” Resigned to the fact that we were not going to see a bee line established between our box and their nest, we unpacked our lunches. Attention was waning, when a bee flew straight towards us, landing on our feeding station. Ha - it worked! Twenty-three minutes had passed since we set her free from the box. Within a few minutes another four bees returned and we were able to put a spot of colour on each one with markers. We took note of what directions they were flying away and waited for them to complete another two trips. But they would fail to convince fellow foragers to join them. Nonetheless, satisfied that we had identified what direction they were moving in we were able to trap three in the box again, and move 1km north-west. Here we released our marked bees, but they were not able to find us again. After a 40-minute wait, we called the hunt over. Even though we were nowhere
Eager for something a bit more adventurous, twelve of us had enrolled to ascend further up the mountain on the first morning, with the ambitious goal of catching foraging bees and following them back to their nest. With such a large and inexperienced crew and only about five hours to complete, I was not too hopeful. The art of bee hunting demands plenty of patience. Indeed, we did not make it all the way, but it was a thrill to see the techniques working. We were 1,000m above sea level when we started looking for bees. Overcast and breezy, the weather was not ideal but fair. By early August, the main nectar flows are past in this region, but there was still some blackberry blossom and several varieties of clover and thistle. The lack of major food sources was to our advantage, as the bees may well have snubbed our offering otherwise.
Images © Giacomo Ciriello and Marta di Pomponio
Leading us was Luca Vitali, who has translated and published Tom Seeley’s books in Italian, and brought a bee catching box crafted to Tom’s specifications. Most of us tried using it, but only the swiftest caught any bees. We very soon gave up chasing them between the sparse flowers in the field. The best approach was leaning into bramble and waiting for a bee to visit a flower within reach. Arms were scratched, leggings were torn but all was worth it as within less than an hour we had eight bees in the box. We walked to a nearby clearing and gathered around Luca, who proceeded to explain the next steps. Following Tom’s instructions, he poured sugar syrup, scented with aniseed, into a piece of old comb and offered it to the bees in the box. After 5-10 minutes, we set them free. They circled around a few times to memorise the spot before flying away – to the west, to the north, and in between. All we could do was wait, hoping they would come back for more.
The moment before a catch! (Using a bee catching box crafted to Tom Seeley’s specifications) 3
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
near finding the nest, we all felt a great sense of achievement. We saw the method working and were elated to see the bees we had caught and marked return to our feeding station.
reservoirs of locally adapted genes and the only long-term solution for beekeeping with Varroa. She has categorically stopped selecting against swarming and is keen for her queens to mate with drones from unmanaged colonies.
Back at the festival site we recounted our adventure and judging by the questions I expect there will be at least two hunting parties setting off at next year’s event. Adelaide Valentini had perfectly explained why it was so important to protect and learn from free living honey bees. Her family run a successful and multifaceted beekeeping business, which has genuinely strived to prioritise the welfare of their local honey bee population. Adelaide manages hundreds of colonies and runs a sophisticated breeding programme. At the same time, she believes that Apis mellifera is a wild species threatened by domestication, and that natural selection is the key to the development of resilient honey bees.
With similar goals but a very different approach, a team from the Fondazione Edmund Mach presented their own initiative to monitor and safeguard unmanaged honey bee colonies. This comes in the form of a free app called BeeWild, available for both Android and iOs devices. While Adelaide’s project relies on a community of trusted beekeepers growing outwards from her locality, the BeeWild app is a tool aimed at everyone. The idea is simple – whoever finds a colony that does not belong to a beekeeper can register it online with observations, pictures and geographic coordinates. Once the entry is accepted as valid (it is a constant source of amazement how many people cannot tell bees and wasps apart) – anyone with the app can see the location of the wild colony and information about it. This last point caused some controversy. Several were concerned that the app could be used maliciously, and that the best form of protection for nests is obscurity. The developers will be monitoring the situation closely as more people start using the app and stand ready to change the model if it starts undermining itself.
Oscar Wilde famously wrote that the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. Italy, and the rest of the world, needs more beekeepers like Adelaide who are deeply committed to finding ways of working with nature rather than against it – while continuing to treat beekeeping as a viable livelihood rather than an elitist hobby. She is launching the Resilient Bee Project which is setting out to create a network of guardian beekeepers who take care of wild colonies and monitor their health in non-invasive ways. She sees these colonies as crucial
Both the Resilient Bee Project and the BeeWild app want to raise awareness of the importance and beauty of honey bee nests that live free of human intervention.
A steady hand is needed for marking bees coming back to the feeding station 4
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Off you go! Please come back for more with your friends – the bees are released from the catching box These are steps towards protecting marvels of nature, expanding the habitats that support them, and ultimately learning from them how to keep bees sustainably again.
To learn more about the Resilient Bee Project visit www.resilientbee.com
Search for the BeeWild app on the Google or Apple app stores
The Bee Natural Festival was hosted by the Beeodiversity Park www.beeodiversitypark.com/il-parco The Beeodiversity Park is home to colonies in frame, log, People’s and top-bar hives
Paolo Fontana looks at bees in a top-bar hive
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Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Trees Bees Use Lavandula angustifolia – A well-known plant loved by bees and people Usman H Dukku, LLH Bieneninstitut Kirchhain, Kirchhain, Germany (Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi 740004, Nigeria) Family: Lamiaceae
monofloral lavender honey (mainly from France, Italy and Spain) is highly cherished by consumers.
Common name: Lavender
Description Lavandula angustifolia is a shrub growing to 1m height. The leaves are entire, lanceolate, oblong, or linear. Flowers in terminal blunt spikes 2-8cm born on long stems. Each spike consists of whorls or rings of six to ten flowers. Flowers are short-stalked. Bracteoles are absent or, when present, minute. Calyx is purple, tubular, ribbed and five-toothed. Corolla is 10-12mm purple or bluish violet.
Lavandula angustifolia occurs naturally in montane areas of southern Europe and introduced to gardens world-wide. In the northern hemisphere it flowers from June to August. Apicultural value Lavandula angustifolia produces copious amounts of nectar and pollen and honey bees (Apis mellifera) forage intensively throughout the day (weather permitting), collecting nectar and pollen. Foragers spend 1.1-2.6 seconds on one flower. Bumblebees, butterflies, flies and solitary bees also forage on this plant. The honey is light white to extra light amber. It is dark in the presence of honeydew. It may have some salty notes. The honey has weak acidity and is without bitterness. Crystallisation is moderate, and premium
Other uses The essential oil derived from the flowers is used in aromatherapy and perfumery, to flavour food and as an ingredient in herbal preparations. Which plants do your bees use? Send us your favourites – address on page 2
Images © Usman H Dukku
Lavandula angustifolia in full bloom at the LLH Bieneninstitut Kirchhain and (inset) foraging Carniolan honey bee Apis mellifera carnica
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Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Africanised bee removals in Trinidad
Image © Aditya Ramlochan
Gladstone Solomon, Tobago Apicultural Society, Mesopotamia, Tobago
Aditya Ramlochan is known as the “bee whisperer” because of his deft bee-handling and bee removal skills
The arrival of Africanised honey bees in Trinidad, the most southerly island in the Caribbean, is undoubtedly the biggest game changer in the island’s beekeeping history. The first established colony was found in July 1979 in Saint Patrick County in south-western Trinidad. Annual reports from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that a succession of swarms arrived from South America (11km away) and irreversibly changed beekeeping.
with their higher propensity to swarm and abscond, and to be defensive compared with their European counterparts. Their arrival precipitated a decline in Trinidad’s beekeeping sector and marked the end of the parallel development of beekeeping on both islands. There were significant reductions in both the number of colonies and beekeepers in the aftermath of the bee’s arrival. More than half of the beekeepers practising in 1978 had given up by 1984 because of the bee’s high swarm frequency and defensive nature.1 Over 28,000 established feral colonies were destroyed or collected by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Bee Abatement Programme. A least 5,300 people and over 800 animals were stung by honey bees during the period 1979 to August 1992. By December 2005, 16 persons in Trinidad had died because of stings from Africanised bees.
To date, the honey bees on Tobago, Trinidad’s counterpart in the twin island Republic, are of the same genetic stock as introduced by European colonists. This is because of the de facto prohibition of the movement of bees from Trinidad to Tobago, Tobago’s location 35km ‘up-wind’ of Trinidad, and the nature of passenger and cargo traffic between both islands, limits the possibility of undetected transportation of honey bee colonies.
The emergence of a new generation of beekeepers around the turn of the century with no prior exposure to the easier-to-manage European honey bees, and no option but to work with the available stock of Africanised honey bees, heralded the start of the resuscitation of beekeeping on the island. Hayden Sinanan, Inspector
Serious challenge Africanised honey bee colonies pose a heightened challenge to public safety, particularly in urban areas, 7
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Aditya Ramlochan, a beekeeper from Manzanilla on Trinidad’s east coast estimates that he has removed over 1,000 colonies since he started bee removals in 2001. Aditya recalled that he removed 100 swarms in 2018 and 120 in 2019. These were bumper years as he previously averaged 50-60 removals per year. Referred to by his peers as the “bee whisperer” because of his deft beehandling and bee removal skills. Aditya anticipates that he will remove more than 100 swarms by this year’s end. Image © Aditya Ramlochan
Clients requesting bee removal services from the TTBA during daylight hours could expect to be contacted by a beekeeper within ten minutes of making the request. here there is agreement on the terms and conditions, and depending on the complexity of the removal, this is usually concluded within 24 hours.
Aditya anticipates that by the end of 2020 he will have removed over 100 swarms
Misconceptions There have been increasing reports of misconceptions in clients’ expectations regarding bee removal services. Some clients are of the view that they are entitled to the honey removed as part of the process. Petra Rattan from Matura, a home-schooling mother and beekeeper with over five-year’s experience, remedied this situation by including on her removal estimate form that clients are required to sign, a statement which reads, “when we agree to remove bees from your premises it is our aim to safely relocate them. A successful colony requires bees, comb, honey, and pollen, as such all of the aforementioned are considered part of the removal process.”
of Apiaries, estimates that currently there are 400 active beekeepers (roughly the same number as reported in 1978), managing approximately 9,000 colonies (almost 2,000 more than reported in 1978) in Trinidad.
Removals The removal of honey bee swarms or established colonies from locations other than managed apiaries has always been integral to beekeeping. Bee removals were provided by the Ministry of Agriculture as a public service prior to, and more so, since the arrival of the Africanised honey bees. As beekeepers gained confidence in managing Africanised bees, their involvement in bee removals and the commercialisation of the activity accelerated. Bee removal has emerged as a specialised economic activity within the sector, with several beekeepers investing in related equipment such as bee vac’s, scaffolding, ladders etc. This development has been facilitated in part by constraints in the delivery of bee removal services by the Ministry.
Some clients believe they are doing the beekeeper a favour by allowing her/him to remove bees from their property and as such they should not be required to pay for removal services. There are, however, genuine cases where clients are not able to pay removal fees. Kern Cyrus from Chaguanas in central Trinidad has had encounters with such clients over the four years he has been doing bee removals. Kern does not see removals as strictly a business. He informed that “in instances where I realise a client is unable to pay, I remove the swarm anyway,
The Trinidad and Tobago Beekeepers’ Association (TTBA) received 352 requests for bee removals between 1 May 2019 and 20 June 2020, with the highest percentage of calls received in May and June, and October and November. Khannaya Baboolal, Head of Apiaries at the Ministry informed that over the past year his office received an average of 150 removal calls per month with a data variance skewed towards more calls in the rainy season (the second half of the year). Allan Mahabir, Administrative Officer at the Ministry reported a similar pattern of removal calls, with a monthly average of 70. Bee removal calls were also received by the two other beekeeping associations in Trinidad, pest removal companies, the Electricity Commission, and individual beekeepers. Taken together, an estimated 3,600 bee removal calls were received from all sources over the past year.
Image © Petra Rattan
The Inspector of Apiaries endorsed the estimated number of removal calls received. He referenced a study undertaken by the Ministry in 2005 which quantified annual bee removal requests at approximately 1,000 and noted that the current estimated number of removal calls may be because of the improved methods of communication resulting in more calls being made, urbanisation, and increases in the number of managed and feral honey bee colonies on the island.
Petra Rattan is a home-schooling mother and beekeeper with over five-year’s experience of bee removal 8
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
sometimes at a reduced rate, it puts me in a position to help persons who often are under siege or feel threatened by a swarm of bees, it’s my way of contributing to the wider community in my capacity as a beekeeper”.
and knowledge required for inclusion in the Bee Removers WhatsApp Group. 5. Adopt the attached professionally drafted Bee Removal Contract Agreement for use as the authorised agreement document between beekeepers and clients. 6. Follow-up on discussions initiated by the Team with T&TEC and pests removal companies regarding establishing strategic alliances to treat with bee removals. 7. Approve the implementation of the Bee Removal Fee Structure shown at the foot of this page.
Team work
Recognising the need to improve service delivery and customer education, a team of volunteers from the TTBA comprised mainly of persons involved in bee removals embarked on a mission, endorsed by the TTBA’s Executive, to draft proposals to enhance the TTBA’s bee removal portfolio, inclusive of a fee structure. The team met on several occasions over a ten-week period via Zoom, and WhatsApp. Its final report includes these recommendations: 1. Enhance the current line of communication between the public and the TTBA regarding reporting of bee removals, through consistent educational outreach programmes via newspapers, radio, social media and television. 2. Amend the Process Flow for bee removal requests to comply with the 5-Step Diagram (right). 3. Form an exclusive WhatsApp Group, administered by the TTBA’s Executive, for Bee Removals. Conditions for inclusion and retention in the Group are as follows: • Financial membership in the TTBA • Practical skill and knowledge levels established by the TTBA • Agreement to abide by a Code of Conduct and other requirements approved by the TTBA. 4. Organise at least one workshop/ course per year that covers the skills
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Mohamed K. Hallim Beekeeping Industry in Trinidad and Tobago in the year 2000 (paper presented at the Second Caribbean Beekeeping Congress, Gingerland, Nevis, August 14-18, 2000)
1. Client requests Bee Removal services from TTBA 5. Bee Removal executed. Invoice submi�ed to Client. Beekeeper sends removal feedback to TTBA.
4. Beekeeper visits removal site. Finalises job es�mates & other pre-removal requirements. Communicates same with Client.
2. TTBA posts Bee Removal Request No�ce on TTBA's WhatsApp.
3. Beekeeper contacts Client within context of approved guidelines, & communicates general terms & condi�ons of removal.
Bee removal fee structure CATEGORIES (Assess the removal and circle one numerical value in each category) REMOVAL TIME
RISK
ASSESSMENT SCORE
SKILL LEVEL
Less than 1 hour
1
Low
1
Basic
1
1 to 2 hours
2
Medium
2
Moderate
2
2 to 3 hours
3
High
3
Mildly Complex
3
3 to 4 hours
4
Very High
4
Complex
4
More than 4 hours
Extremely High
Very Complex
TOTAL ASSESSMENT SCORE The fee for one Assessment Point is fixed at TT$100 (US$15, €12). Therefore the Fee for an Assessment Score of 3 is TT$300 (US$45, €36). The structure provides pre-determined fees for assessment scores ranging from 3 to 12 points Fees for assessment scores above 12 are determined by the beekeeper To use the Fee Structure in your local currency, determine an appropriate fee for an Assessment Point. For more information about the fee structure contact Gladstone via Bees for Development 9
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Maasai women beekeepers in Tanzania Molly Hagan, Media Manager, Maasai Honey, Ololosokwan, Tanzania In the small village of Ololosokwan, Maasai Honey educates and empowers local women through beekeeping. The women are taught colony management, how to manually press honeycomb and how to make products with beeswax. Sales from products directly support the beekeepers and their families and communities, while simultaneously supporting the local bees. (above) Noorkisaruni holding a 500g jar of Maasai Honey
The village inhabitants are Maasai – semi-nomadic people with traditions in pastoralism. They are one of the most prominent tribes in Tanzania, well known for their cloth ‘shukas’ and beaded jewellery. Today the tribe is less nomadic and still maintains traditional clay houses that can be easily demolished or constructed when in search of new pastures. The homes tell the lifestyle: a central fire for cooking food and tea, leather hides for sleeping, and a small room for baby goats and sheep to stay at night. Women work at cooking food, caring for children, tending livestock and fetching water and firewood.
Growing project
It is over ten years since those first few hives were hung. The project has grown immensely and now includes five apiary sites, one in each sub-village of Ololosokwan. In total, there are now almost 200 hives, distributed across the apiaries. Production, although variable depending on weather conditions, has increased steadily over the years. Last year we harvested over 1,200 kg of honey from these colonies. The project now includes hives of Melipona stingless bees. These bees produce a special honey known locally for its unique flavour and health benefits.
Opportunities and income Witnessing the challenging lifestyle of the women in Ololosokwan, Krysten Ericson (visiting Tanzania from Connecticut, USA) was motivated to help the Maasai women create work opportunities and earn income. The natural environment of the village inspired a beekeeping project: Maasai Honey was established, and apiaries were built across the village.
The environment of Ololosokwan makes beekeeping activities both interesting and challenging. There are great weather extremes shifting from harsh drought to powerful rain. Bees must be supplemented with food and water during the droughts when no flowers are present. Heavy rains can damage hives, overflow rivers, and alter the landscape. While bees are adaptive and resilient creatures, the apiaries require careful observation and monitoring. To protect the hives from wild animals and harsh weather, each Maasai Honey apiary has a bee cage. These cages act as housing structures to shelter the hives, while allowing the bees to fly freely. Maasai Honey women tend to the hives in their sub-village, working together with Maasai Honey beekeepers to manage the hive inspections and harvesting schedule.
The new project was a learning process: a cautious beginning with a few wooden hives hanging in the trees, but the team wondered why the bees did not move in. At this point Bees for Development’s Information Service stepped in explaining that hives need to be baited with beeswax to attract bee colonies. Following this advice, the beekeeping process began, with Bees for Development providing many more foundation tips to help Maasai Honey to keep growing. 10
Images © Maasai Honey
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Nalari blends beeswax and oils to make skin salves. The team uses a double-boiling method to prevent the ingredients from overheating
Value addition
and the village economy and the community at large. Maasai Honey aims to continue growing, expanding sales and business opportunities so that profits can be reinvested back into the project. The journey of Maasai Honey has been an adventure, and without doubt, it is producing sweet returns.
Once the honey is harvested, the women press and package the honey and then prepare the remaining beeswax. The women are trained in the making of candles, soap, skin salve and lip balm – value added products that add diversity and income. In this way, all parts of the harvested honeycomb are used, creating a zero-waste system that utilises renewable resources. For cosmetics production, other natural ingredients are sourced within East Africa, supporting regional value-chains and local businesses that produce natural, sustainable goods.
To learn more about Maasai Honey visit www.MaasaiHoney.org
Products are sold to safari lodges, shops, and restaurants throughout Tanzania. Retail products may be sold to individuals, while honey in bulk quantities allows restaurants to use Maasai Honey in their culinary creations. The honey reaches many locations, but always carries the taste of the Serengeti and the distinct flavours of the acacia trees. The honey is never heated, only cold-pressed, ensuring that it retains both intrinsic flavours and natural health benefits. Like the environment it comes from, the honey is unique – telling its story to everyone who tastes it.
Project pride Maasai Honey prides themselves on the honey produced, and also the meaningful impact on the village. Many of the women testify that when they joined Maasai Honey, they had nothing, but the training and work opportunity has allowed them to provide for their families and send their children to school. Between the women, staff, and apiary guards, the project supports 26 Maasai Honey team members. The positive impacts are widespread, benefiting individuals
Nalari in the final steps of making lip balm pours the mixture into tubes 11
Bees for Development Journal 135 136 July September 2020 2020
NEWS COSTA RICA Curridabat, a small city on the edge of the Costa Rican capital of San José, has granted pollinators (bats, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds) and endemic plants and trees citizenship!
Image source www.demagazine.co.uk/2019/08/27
Nicknamed the Sweet City* Curridabat has transformed its urban planning and new developments reflect the connection between humans and wildlife. Former Mayor, Edgar Mora (credited with transforming the city into a haven for wildlife over his 12 year term in office) said: “Pollinators are the consultants of the natural world, supreme reproducers and they do not charge for it. The plan to convert every street into a bio corridor and every neighbourhood into an ecosystem required a relationship with them. People in cities are prone to defend nature when it is far away – a distant concept. But they tend to be negligent when it comes to protecting nature in their immediate environment.” *Since 2015, the Sweet City Initiative has created community events where residents plant flowers and trees endemic to Curridabat as well as exotic plants. Citizens, businesses, and institutions are provided with the Sweet City Greenery Guide, detailing what and how to plant, which plants will bear fruits, the creatures that like each plant, and which types are medicinal. They are made aware of the climatic conditions ideal for each plant, the urban context
where they should be planted, and other factors. All this extra vegetation gives the ‘gang of pollinators’ more places to work. As thousands of these creatures return to pollinate, Curridabat becomes sweeter and the natural process of ecology takes over with plants thriving and citizens becoming healthier. Source: www.livekindly.co
HAITI
such as bananas, cassava and plantains, Hilarion grew up among beehives. Recently the area’s reputation for honey production has continued to grow.
The commune of Bonbon lies at the western most tip of Haiti. It shares its name with the traditional Haitian sweet, ‘bonbon’, a cake made with dark sugarcane syrup and sweet spices. Thanks to Hilarion Célestin and a group of local beekeepers, the area is now wellknown for another kind of sweet: honey.
COVID 19 impact The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic spelled disaster for the island in many ways. The impact on health and the medical system was followed by the economic impact. Agricultural work decreased, as farmers were required to stay at home because of Government containment measures.
Images © FAO/Josué Saint Charles
Growing up in Bonbon, Hilarion learnt his trade at an early age. Many of his peers grew up in families learning about fishing and production of local crops
With help from an FAO project, Hilarion has increased his honey production 12
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NEWS The ‘honey business’, was one of few exceptions to this rule. Hilarion and the 30 other members of Bonbon Beekeepers Association (BBA) noticed that there was a marked increase in demand for their honey due to its wide use in traditional Haitian medicine. Before the Covid 19 outbreak Hilarion was selling his honey to customers in the Arrondissement of Jérémie and the capital Port-au-Prince, but due to the containment measures and restrictions on movement, he had to adjust: “To fully respect measures to mitigate spreading the virus, we had to adapt our production and marketing techniques. I applied the hygiene rules recommended by the Ministry. I do not meet more than two people at a time, with a 1.5m distance between us and I am committed to helping my community members.”
Hilarion now wants to strengthen the Beekeeper’s Association, boost his marketing and sell his products in local and national markets
Honey production The BBA was set up with the support of FAO and the Haitian Ministry of Environment, as part of the Action Against Desertification (AAD) project. BBA collaborates with the neighbouring Abricots Beekeepers Association, and other groups in the Department of Grand’Anse, to promote beekeeping production in the area and market their honey under a common label.
Hilarion is playing a waiting game until Haiti’s COVID-19 containment measures are lifted. He is eager to set new plans in motion: strengthening the organisation of BBA to improve the collection, packaging and marketing of the honey to push it out further into local and national markets and continue to increase production with the knowledge gained from the AAD project training. These are uncertain times for Haiti like all countries around the world – but for the Haitian honey sector, the future looks bright.
FAO’s AAD project is funded by the European Union and has been supporting Hilarion and his fellow beekeepers since 2016. By supporting beekeeping livelihoods, the project seeks to increase income, while encouraging protection of natural resources and enhancing pollination.
Source: www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1294992/
INDIA
deterrents to protect their crops. Solutions need to be community-wide to be effective and we encourage an entire village to participate in crop guarding.”
India is home to an estimated 27,000 elephants, more than half the global Asian elephant Elephas maximus population.
Many factors determine the effectiveness of methods, including the time of year and farm location. Human presence is the main deterrent. Night guarding from a tree watchtower, with a low-cost, early-warning system – a trip alarm – works well.
With the rapid shrinking and fragmentation of their habitats and travel corridors, elephants are increasingly forced out of the forest in search of food. This puts them in direct conflict with humans. Between 2014 and 2019, 2,361 humans and 510 elephants were killed following conflict. Prachi Mehta, research director at the Wildlife Research and Conservation Society (WRCS), since 2009 has been testing low-cost and safe deterrents in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state in South India. The district, with an area of 10,300km2 and rapidly depleting forest cover, is home to 70-80 elephants. There have been no casualties related to human-elephant conflict since WRCS began working with more than 700 farmers.
For farmers living close to an evergreen forest, there is another lucrative deterrent – a beehive fence. These fences were first successfully trialled and implemented in Kenya by Dr Lucy King of the Elephants and Bees Project. Inspired by a meeting with Dr King, Mr Mehta decided to try out the fences. Farmers in Uttara Kannada have traditionally practised apiculture and are comfortable handling colonies. There were concerns about the effectiveness of bee fences in India as the Asian honey bee Apis cerana is less defensive than African honey bees Apis mellifera.
“Every human-elephant conflict situation is different,” says Mehta. “Elephants are highly intelligent animals and become habituated to deterrents requiring us to rotate measures or invent new ones. Our aim is to provide farmers with simple, inexpensive
However, WRCS’s programme officer, Ravi Yellapur, says: “367 farmers in the district have beehive fences. Since I joined the project in 2015, there has not been a single instance of an elephant breaching a bee fence to gain entry”. 13
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
NEWS The locally made fences consist of 8-10 hollow logs, 30cm in length with a wide cavity, hung between two wooden poles at intervals of 10m. The logs are connected to each other by strong wires. The inside of each log is coated with a liquid mixture of beeswax, cinnamon and jaggery (unrefined sugar). Both ends of the log are plugged, except for one or two small holes that allow the bees to enter. The bees are drawn to the logs by the aroma of the mixture. The bees help increase crop yield while the honey harvested twice a year provides additional income for farmers. About 4kg of “elephant-friendly” honey is taken from a hive each harvest selling for Rp300 (US$4; €3) per kilo. This financial incentive, coupled with the regular awareness sessions conducted by WRCS and the local forest department, has helped build a tolerance to elephants among the community.
Images © Venkatesh Kavalakodu
“We focus on human-elephant conflict, yet elephants are symbolic of all wildlife. We must learn to cohabit”. Mahesh Rangarajan, Elephant Task Force Sources www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/12/ a-taste-of-honey-how-bees-mend-fences-betweenfarmers-and-elephants-aoe www.wrcsindia.org/human-elephant-coexistence
Shri Venkatesh Kavalakodu hosted the Workshop on his farm. Fifty-eight participants visited the beekeeping area in an Areca palm plantation to see the different types of cultivated crops
Workshop for Farmers “Bees are very useful for the environment and for the human community. Beekeeping is an art to generate income for farmers and improve their economic status. Farmers can develop methods to build ‘bee empires’ in their plantation. Pollination by the bees will improve crop yields also”, reported retired bee inspector Shri Sathyanarayana Bhatt during the one-day Workshop in
March conducted by the Horticulture Department of Karnataka State. The Karnataka Government will fund farmers to aid economic growth and generate rural employment opportunities. Shri Venkatesh Kavalakodu, Karnataka State
BEE INSPIRED Photo Competition
TELL US YOUR STORY
We love to show aspects of the wonderful world of bees, people and nature. We are always looking for images to feature in our publications. The prize? We will feature your image on the Bees for Development Journal front cover! And, with your permission, would like to share entries as mediumresolution images on our website. A caption with every image is always helpful, and photos of people will need to have model permissions recorded. Please send your images to info@beesfordevelopment.org (for large file sizes and numbers, you should use a free file transfer service).
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. Please send images at the size they are taken off the camera. (Images resized for website use are not suitable for printing). All the information material we receive is added to our databank on beekeeping worldwide. 14
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
NEWS ZIMBABWE Creative and innovative Kelvin Machowa is a young man who completed his A levels but went no further with his studies. He is a level one trained beekeeper who works with our team in our apiaries and bee workshop in Rusape where he earns a modest wage. With the experience Kelvin has gained, he decided to establish his own apiary with hives he constructed in our workshop using offcuts of timber and boards.
In the development journey there is no one with nothing. We all have assets around us to start projects. The way we understand the needs-based approach and the assets-based approach will make a difference. Kelvin has an apiary with six hives and is expecting them to be occupied as we approach the swarming season (August). I wish other young people can do the same as Kelvin: a champion in our community among several of his age in Makoni District.
Images © Robert Mutisi
I like the idea of Kelvin establishing his apiary using locally available resources. This asset-based approach makes him different from many young people who think about beekeeping initiatives from the needsbased approach (donor syndrome). Kelvin saw himself surrounded by assets which he mobilised to start his own apiary. In addition to the timber he can access bees, land and trees to site his hives, people with knowledge and skills and support and encouragement from other young beekeepers. Kelvin makes use of what he has around him to build capacity to acquire what he does not have.
(above) Kelvin Machowa has established his apiary using locally available resources (below) Kelvin has access to important assets: land and trees to site the hives he made from timber offcuts
“Development of any society depends largely on young people and investment in today`s youth is an investment in the future for the nation. They become responsible citizens, good parents, effective decision makers, make an efficient workforce and are leaders of tomorrow” – Rojen Suntoo Robert Mutisi, Forestry Executive, Makoni Beekeepers’ Association, Manicaland
PROPOLIS POTENTIAL Propolis is widely used in traditional herbal medicine and as a health aid and immune system booster. The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed interest in propolis products worldwide. Various aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanism are potential targets for propolis compounds. Propolis components have inhibitory effects on the signalling pathways within the virus and in addition, antiviral activity has been proven in vitro and in vivo. In pre-clinical studies, propolis promoted immunoregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, reducing the risk of cytokine storm syndrome, a major mortality factor in advanced COVID-19 disease. Propolis has also shown promise as an aid in the treatment of various of the co-morbidities that are particularly dangerous in COVID-19 patients, including respiratory diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. Standardised propolis products with consistent bioactive properties are now available. Given the current emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and limited therapeutic options, propolis is presented as a relevant, therapeutic option that is safe, easy to administrate orally and is readily available as a natural supplement and functional food. Citation: Berretta AA, Duarte Silveira MA, C’ondor Capcha JM, De Jong D,Propolis and its potential against SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanisms and COVID-19 disease,Biomedicine and amp; Pharmacotherapy(2020),doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110622 15
Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
BOOKSHELF Honey a comprehensive survey Eva Crane 2020 658 pages hard/soft cover A reprint of Eva Crane’s seminal work first published in 1975. Forty-five years later it is still a wonderful text. Not changed are the facts about bees, plants and honey. What has changed remarkably is everything concerning world honey trade – a story which has altered completely. When this book was first published China was exporting around 20,000 tonnes of honey – compare this with China’s market domination today – exporting around 130,000 tonnes. What has changed also is the way that we now access information – Eva Crane and her team spent years carefully tracking down and amassing references to provide and support every statement in this strictly factual book – the bibliography and indices take up more than 100 pages, making this a far more precious compendium than can be today appreciated, living as we do now with Google at our finger tips.
Bee Optimism – translational research can rescue honeybees and other pollinators Jay D Evans 2020 139 pages soft cover A compendium of humorous essays, concise and rich in content. Success stories from the university bee research communities, government and bee scientists in industry, who have made an important and practical discovery, or have combined other work to make a substantial advance for bee science and beekeeping. The highly readable, enjoyable and informative book is in five parts: Challenges and opportunities, Sweetness and light, Royal decrees, Climate change and Closing.
Thinking outside the box – a beginner’s guide to top bar beekeeping April Kirkendoll 2020 256 pages soft cover A very good title for an excellent guide to top-bar hives and the natural beekeeping that they enable, with bees being able to create a more natural nest than is possible in rectangular and rigid frame hives. It contains useful chapters on building a top-bar hive with plans and a step by step guide, their history, and advice on management. In the chapter ‘Bee-Mageddon’, the author describes, admitting that it makes depressing reading, the very many and diverse problems that bees are now facing. An excellent addition to the small range of books now published on top-bar hive beekeeping.
Liquid gold – bees and the pursuit of midlife honey Roger Morgan-Grenville 2020 256 pages hard cover Roger Morgan-Grenville is a retired soldier who by chance met his now good friend Duncan and on seeing a swarm in need of a home, decided to take up beekeeping. Both novices, this book is a gentle account of the problems, hurdles and learning that they went through. The book interestingly provides an account of the amount of time and (not inconsiderable) expenditure involved in their new hobby - useful for anyone who wants a realistic estimate of what might be involved in beginning small scale beekeeping in UK. In year two they achieve an excellent harvest of honey and decide to enter the local honey show – but soon realise that winning at such an event is a whole, huge endeavour of its own! They sensibly decide to just continue their beekeeping for a few more years, and forget honey competitions for the time being.
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Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
LOOK AHEAD IRELAND
NEW DATES: SICAMM Conference 3-5 September 2021, Athlone Further details www.sicamm.org
BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT EVENTS
RUSSIA
UK
V International Conference: Scientific research into the zoology of invertebrates 26-28 October 2020, Tomsk Further details tomsk_konferentsiya2020@mail.ru
Willow Skep Making 3 October 2020, Ross on Wye HR9 6JZ BfD Fun Quiz with Patron Bill Turnbull 23 October 2020, see Virtual Honey Show overleaf
APIMONDIA: 47th International Apicultural Congress 20-25 September 2021, Ufa Further details www.apimondia2021.com
Straw Skep Making 15 November 2020, Ross on Wye HR9 6JZ Strengthening livelihoods by means of beekeeping ONLINE COURSE 9,10, 16, 17 December 2020, 5-6pm GMT
ST LUCIA
10th Caribbean Beekeepers Virtual Congress 25-28 November 2020, Castries Further details see page 18
Sustainable Beekeeping 17-18 April and 4-5 September 2021 Ragman’s Lane Farm, GL17 9PA
SERBIA
NEW DATES: EurBee 9 Congress September 2022, University of Belgrade Further details www.eurbee9.bio.bg.ac.rs
Global Hive Technical Beekeeping Webinars
SLOVENIA
Making money from beeswax 7 October 2020, 2pm BST
11th International Meeting of Young Beekeepers 5-9 July 2021, Ivanca Gorica Further details www.icyb.cz
Topics to be confirmed 25 November 2020, 2pm (GMT) 13 January 2021, 2pm GMT
SOUTH AFRICA
NEW DATES: XII International Symposium on Pollination 31 August – 4 September 2021, Cape Town Further details www.icppr.com
For details of all these events visit
www.beesfordevelopment.org/ events-calendar
TANZANIA
BSc Beekeeping Science & Technology University of Dar es Salaam Further details www.coasft.udsm.ac.tz
VIETNAM
NEW DATES: 15th Asian Apicultural Association Conference 1-4 April 2021, Hanoi Further details www.asianapiculture.org
TURKEY
NEW DATES: 7th International Beekeeping & Pine Honey Congress 31 March – 4 April 2021, Muğla Further details www.muglacongress.org/eng
If you want notice of your conference, workshop or meeting to be included here and on our website, send details to Bees for Development.
UK
89th National Honey Show – VIRTUAL 22-24 October 2020, Sandown Park Racecourse Further details see page 18
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Towards sustainable crop pollination services: Measures at field, farm and landscape scales FAO, 2020, 194 pages As the discipline of pollination ecology moves from describing the extent of a pollinator crisis, to identifying what can be done about it, there is a need to share and highlight very practical measures that will support sustainable crop biotic pollination services. Identifying these practices will require a mix of farmer and natural historian knowledge and scientific research. In this publication, we outline the practices that have been so far identified, and what experiences may contribute to sharing the effectiveness of these measures under different circumstances. Citation: https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8965en Download at www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca8965en 17
VIRTUAL HONEY SHOW The UK National Honey Show Executive Committee has reluctantly concluded that because of Covid19 it will not be practical to stage the Show this October. This is not a decision we have taken lightly. There are too many unknowns and our first priority is keeping everyone safe. However, the Show will go on – virtually! We are busy planning and we hope to provide a series of prerecorded workshops and lectures with live Q&A’s and some social events in the evenings. A virtual trade show is being discussed and I am certain lots more ideas will develop. Visit: www.honeyshow.co.uk Bob Maurer, Chairman, National Honey Show
VIRTUAL CARIBBEAN CONGRESS Due to the current global health crisis, and unclear international travel protocols, we have decided to take a blended approach of engaging regional and international colleagues virtually, along with local participants from St Lucia within social distancing protocols for the 10th Caribbean Beekeeping Congress in November. The virtual engagements will include: • Panel discussion on country reports from the region. All reports will be on our website for prior review • Panel discussion on the development of apiculture in the region • Keynote presentations Visit:
www.ACBOonline.com Richard Matthias, ACBO Secretary
Bees for Development, 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Telephone +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org © Bees for Development 2020 ISSN 1477-6588 Printed on environmentally friendly paper and delivered in a fully compostable wrapper made from potato and corn starch
