News

BURKINA FASO

An FAO-UNDP beekeeping development project has been underway in Burkina Faso since 1985. The project is promoting the use of top-bar hives with sloping sides and containing 24 top-bars. These hives are made either from timber or woven from straw and covered with cow-dung. During the course of the project the number of beekeepers has risen from 375 in 1986 to 2250 in 1989. Around 700 hives have been built so far. The project has also provided a processing plant with modern equipment.

Source: article by Blanca Rigau and Enric Campi, United Nations Volunteers, Vida Apicola 44 (1990).

CHINA

A Chinese doctor has developed an ointment for the treatment of burns. Known as Moist Burn Ointment (MBO), it is claimed to reduce pain on contact, lessen the need for narcotics and reduce healing time. The doctor who developed the medication, Dr Xu Rong Xiang comes from a family of herbal-medicine specialists, and will not reveal the ointment’s formula until he receives a US Patent, saying only that it contains honey, sesame oil and other herbal ingredients.

Dr Xu flew to the US to present his findings at major burns centres in New York, Boston and Bethesdaa. The reception was not as warm as he might have hoped. Said Dr Cleon Goodwin, director of the respected New York Hospital Burns Centre: “Dozens of magic potions have been put forward in the past 30 years. Not one has panned out. So naturally we are sceptical’.

The MBO method is disarmingly simple. Doctors spread a thin layer of the ointment over the wounded area and keep the skin completely covered until it heals. So far, the treatment has been used on 50,000 burn patients in China and on several hundred elsewhere.

Source: Time, December 1990.

ECUADOR

In the province of Chimborazo, the Autonomous Beekeeping Association of Cacha APICA, has started a teaching and training programme for various Indian communities. The aim of the programme is to strengthen the position of beekeeping among the rural poor.

Together with the promotion of fruit farming and the recovery of slope lands by the construction of terraces, beekeeping has been integrated with the aim of creating a more diverse range of activities that increase income, make good use of natural resources and improve the family diet.

In this programme, the non-governmental development organisation Fondo Ecuatoriano Populorum Progressio is providing technical and financial counselling, teaching and training, and arranging loans to small enterprises by peasants.

Source: Javier Llaxacondor, Co-ordinator, APICA.

HONDURAS

Beekeepers tune in to the Marimba!

Marimba hives (similar to Kenya top-bar hives) are catching on among beekeepers in Honduras. Peace Corps Volunteers recently completed a year-long study to test the acceptability of the top-bar hive in Honduras. Called Marimba hives because of their resemblance to that popular musical instrument, 50 of these hives were distributed to extensionists in ten different sites. They used these hives according to their own extension style: setting them either in model apiaries or in those of other beekeepers, and using them in exhibitions, courses and demonstrations.

After working with the hives for a year, the extensionists were in agreement that the hive has a place in the Honduran beekeeping industry and should be promoted further. The hive is particularly appropriate as a development tool because it is easy to build from available scrap materials, so that even the poorest can keep bees. The more expensive Langstroth equipment (one hive body with top, bottom and frames costs twice as much as a top-bar hive) excludes these people from the industry. Beekeepers at this level were very receptive to the Marimba. The study also shows that beekeepers across the economic spectrum are interested in the hive.

In areas where beekeeping with the Langstroth system has long tradition, the Marimba was promoted as a wax producer. Before the arrival of the Africanized bee, beekeepers using Langstroth equipment depended on backyard beekeepers with rustic hives and honey hunters for a supply of beeswax for foundation. The defensiveness of the Africanized bee chased most of those people out of the industry and left Langstroth users with a severe shortage of wax and high priced foundation. Marimba hives are now showing up in apiaries alongside Langstroth as some beekeepers plan to produce wax for their own use. At least one producer is planning to mount a larger Marimba operation to market wax to other beekeepers.

After the first year, nine apiaries in various parts of the country contain at least one Marimba hive, some have as many as four. Most of these were built by beekeepers or local craftsmen. Additionally, the promotion of the hive at the national agriculture school has led to the establishment of a 25-hive Marimba apiary. All students at the school receive courses in beekeeping, which now include work with the Marimba hive. Many of these students go on to be agriculture extensionists in Honduras. But even without formal extension, the Marimba is catching on. One extensionist in the programme reported that beekeepers in his area have begun teaching each other how to build and manage the Marimba hive.

Monica Grabowska

PERU

These desirable bee characteristics, shown below, need no translation for beekeepers.

An example of a page from Manual Practico de Apicultura, an introductory guide to beekeeping written by Javier Llaxacondor for beekeepers of the Callejou de Haaylas, Ancash, Peru.

The association of beekeepers in Ancash, APIANCASH, runs training courses and operates a loan scheme. The courses cover honeybee management, control and prevention of disease, packing and quality control of hive products.

PHILIPPINES

Keeping bees: honey or money?

Alayon sa Banika (Alab) is a farmers’ organisation based in Argao, Cebu. Their objective is to improve the livelihood of their members. Their tools are mutual labour, an agricultural improvement programme and some income-generating projects of which beekeeping is one.

The first European honeybee colony was placed under the care of Alab in August 1986. Would the bees survive and... would they arouse the interest of the Cebuano farmer?

Knowledge about the life and production cycle of the bees was mainly theoretical and limited. No management training was available. The lack of knowhow resulted in poor management which made colonies disappear, leaving empty hives and disappointed farmers.

In October 1987 the STRAIN programme on Cebu launched beekeeping training which was attended by three Alab farmers. In November 1987 four colonies were placed under the care of Alab. Being properly trained, management mainly involves strict discipline, good eyesight and no fear!

Most farmers are afraid to be stung by the little bees and the true test remains whether the farmer is still as enthusiastic after he or she is stung.

The criteria that Alab has set for donating a colony to a farmer are organisation-oriented. Farmers must show an active interest and those who just smell money instead of honey are excluded. This is to prevent over commercialisation. Honey is much wanted in the Philippines, especially if it is pure, not adulterated: numerous healing properties are ascribed to it. Many want to buy and sell it whereas Alab wants the farmers to benefit first.

In Argao, farmers who live up to the criteria line up to get a colony when one is available. They are given on the spot training and further assistance until he or she can manage a colony alone.

Honey was harvested from the first four colonies eight months after placement; in July 1988, 27 kg of honey were harvested. Six months later a considerable 96 kg were harvested. In addition, during September and October, four queens were produced to establish four new colonies.

Although most farmers are mainly interested in honey production, some prioritise pollination, as they experience a lack of pollinators. One farmer reported a dramatic increase in yield of ta-hori (mung-like beans) after placing a colony close to the field. One chupa of seed yielded no less than seven gantas, which is quite exceptional in the area (compare: one chupa on average yields three gantas). Another farmer noticed an effect on his kakaw trees which produced many more fruit. Also the lumboy-tree (Syzygium cumini) a local popular berry producer seems to improve productivity, at the same time being a rich pollen source for the bees.

The biggest problem to overcome is the threat of pesticides. Flowering trees like mangoes, which are densely visited by foraging bees, are sprayed regularly, killing thousands of bees. Nectar or pollen which still reaches the hive may be contaminated.

Co-operation with fruit growers should be established. Preferably only bee-friendly chemicals should be used and the schedule of spraying should be known to beekeepers. Unfortunately, although all groups would benefit, true co-operation has not yet been established. It is a matter of time and education: the importance of the bees cannot be denied anymore.

Mario Datanagan in Organic Matters, June 1989.

URUGUAY

The Fund for Special Operations has provided US$500,000 to set up a credit programme for small-scale farmers. The programme will be run by the Settlers’ Association of Uruguay and will benefit approximately 150 low-income farmers and beekeepers.

The IDB, January-February 1991.