BEEKEEPING
&
DEVELOPMENT 46
WONMEN
The Biosphere Reserve of Calakmul is in the south of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, bordering on Belize and Guatemala. The reserve protects an area of 723,184 hectares of tropical forest. Around 25,000 people live in 115 communities within the nucleus and buffer zone of the reserve. The majority of these people are immigrants from other parts of Mexico, coming in search of land, or to escape political and natural troubles.
The typical means of production is slash and burn agriculture. Given the ever growing population, forest resources are diminishing and soils are becoming less productive. This is a nonsustainable system. The region is one of the poorest in Mexico with an average annual income of approximately US$700. Many communities are without water, electricity or paved roads.
BEEKEEPERS IN CALAKNMUL MEXICO
by Katherine Pasteur and Roberto Delgadillo Aguiree, Mexico Several organisations, both government and non-government, are working in the area looking for alternative sources of income. The ideal is to improve incomes while avoiding excessive exploitation of the forest resources by cutting and burning for cultivation or timber extraction. Possible income sources have included organic agriculture, agroforestry, small livestock production, ecotourism and apiculture.
The region is ideal for apiculture. The mix of high, medium and low forest, as well as small cultivated areas, provide a great variety of melliferous plant species that flower throughout the year. Although the Yucatan Peninsula is a very important honey producing region the reserve has been little exploited for this purpose because the immigrant population had no beekeeping tradition.
A conservation NGO, Pronatura Peninsula de Yucatan, began supporting beekeepers seven years ago. Now there are over 200 beekeepers wor king in the reserve. All of these were men. In fact, most beekeepers in Mexico are men. “Why cannot women keep bees?” we asked ourselves. See ing no reason why not, we offered support to group s of interested women. In this article we share th > experiences of these women and encourage others to take up the challenge.
Why promote
beekeeping with Dofia Inocenta with a swarm captured in a nylon bag
women?
go into the forest and clear land because it is heavy work, but working with bees is not heavy or tiring. The boxes are not too heavy for us, in fact it is easier than some other jobs we have to do”. Unlike most activities that women have to attend to, beekeeping does not require daily attention, and if the apiary is not too far away or too large, hive inspection does not take long. Inspections are on average made every fortnight, though mo frequently in times of scarcity of nectar and poll when feeding may be necessary.
Starting out The groups of women started with a revolving fund with which they bought all the equipment necessary to start keeping bees: veils and gloves; hives with bees; extra boxes; stands to protect the hives from ants; and embossed wax foundation. The fund has to be paid back in the form of cash, honey or other products derived from this activity within two years so that the money can be reinvested in starting more new groups.
Much of women’s work centres around the home, looking after children, washing, preparing meals and tending home gardens and small livestock. This work rarely earns a cash income and is often not highly valued
Beekeeping offers a challenge to women: they see it as something interesting to learn and feel a sense of achievement and
Candies made from stamped wax
self-respect, as well as earning respect from other members of the community. The sale of honey, wax and other secondary products earns them a cash income over which they have autonomy. Aida from the village La Lucha notes: “At first we were afraid because we knew nothing and thought we would not be able to do it, but we got used to it and found it is quite easy to learn. We did not feel as competent as men because we could not
SIX
Hive inspection in La Guadalupe
A Bees for Development publication
