Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Community beekeeping in northern Guatemala Barbara Vallarino, Executive Director and Elmer Urizar, Field Technician, EcoLogic Development Fund, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala phone and with text messages. Just as the world has adapted to all things virtual I have been able to continue walking these communities through key processes of honey production and harvest, remotely. Although the communities’ technology is not very advanced, many have cell phones. A phone call and text messages can do the trick just as well!
We are grateful for the generosity of the FAO 1% for Development Fund*. This support provided in July 2019 has allowed us with our partners in Ixcan, to make significant progress towards our project goals. Our field staff purchased the first 50 hives from a local supplier to ensure a strong start to the project and with healthy colonies. They developed a comprehensive technical sheet specifying the requirements for the hives. After receiving three proposals and selecting the best one, our field staff visited the facility to ensure the hives were built to specification.
In March, I had several phone calls with beekeepers. We discussed how to create and place wax foundation for the bees to build honeycomb to help them work. In April, I had a lot of communication with the producers because everyone was ready for the honey harvest.
Selected sites were visited to ensure appropriate conditions. Once approved, 50 hives, gloves, smokers and suits were delivered to 25 new beekeepers in the two new communities. The communities are remote. The bees were delivered at night so that they would be calmer.
The harvest has been good. For example, Don Jorge, with his son Moisés, from the community of Nuevo San Lorenzo each harvested 18 litres of honey. Marcos, Benino, and Vicente, from the Machaquila II community, stated the same. It is worth mentioning that these are the new beekeepers who started in 2019.
The day after each delivery, a technical assistant visited the new beekeepers to ensure that everything was in order. Ixcan TV covered the event. All the beekeepers signed an agreement acknowledging receipt of the equipment, expressing their commitment to care for the bees as they had been taught through the workshops, and committing to developing two additional colonies which they would pass on to new beekeepers by May 2020.
* https://www.onepercentfund.net
Field Technician, Elmer Urizar has been providing remote guidance to the beekeepers and wrote the following update in May: The beekeepers and farmers I work with have requested technical assistance which I have provided over my cell
Images © EcoLogic Development Fund
Barbara Vallarino with Nuevo San Lorenzo Community
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