Letters

Tanzania: beekeeping past

I was born in Tanzania (then named Tanganyika) and was a keen naturalist which was why I went to work for Dr F G Smith at the Beekeeping Research Station, Tabora. I worked there for a few years and left Africa in 1960 just before independence. Within a year or two Dr Smith had also left and went to similar work in Australia. In Tanzania nearly all my work was done on safari: in fact I spent three weeks every month visiting different places in western Tanzania wherever the local population kept bees. Annual production was 10,000 tonnes or more of honey, and on average 700 tonnes of beeswax. The honey nearly all went into beer making while the beeswax, which was of high quality, was shipped to London.

The Germans must take the credit for starting the beeswax industry in Tanzania, as they established this cash crop industry - industry losing control of it after World War 1. Each area had beekeeping instructors, most of them paid by their local authorities but some paid by the Forest Department. Tanzanian beeswax was of such high quality because it was produced in bark or log hives and never came into contact with metal. The local beekeeping instructors taught the beekeepers to render it in such a way that it never contacted metal. Local traders were also prevented from contaminating the beeswax with paraffin wax, or the wax of stingless bees - Trigona wax.

Beeswax has many uses, but at that time nearly ail of the 700 tonnes were purchased by Brylcreem. The bulk of beekeeping occurred in forested areas which were the source of most of the good nectar producing trees, such as Muwa (Julbernardia globiflora). The bark hives were always hung high in the crowns of trees which kept them a bit cooler and also gave protection from ants, grass fires and honey badgers. The latter were such a menace that the beekeepers hung their hives, wherever possible, in the Mkweranyani tree, Afzelia quanzensis. Mkweranyani means baboon puzzle: the tree has a wide girth and smooth bark, making it impossible for baboons (or honey badgers) to climb.

Frame hives (we used modified Dadant hives) could only be kept satisfactorily in concrete bee houses. These gave protection from ants, grass fires and honey badgers but also the design of the hives made it possible to open them during the bee breeding season, without seriously upsetting the bees and the beekeepers getting so badly stung as to force a retreat.

Later I kept bees in England in the 1960s, then in New Zealand and later in Australia. I returned to England in 1980, but never kept bees again until 2004, when I so concerned about Varroa that I joined the British Beekeepers’ Association who gave me a swarm very late on 31 July. This year, I have split it into two colonies. I am not interested in producing honey, I just think that honeybees are such good pollinators that they should not be allowed to die out. Now that I am retired I can spend more time on them.

With regard to Natural antibiotic found in honey in BfD Journal 72, F G Smith did not detect any bee diseases in African bees until we started keeping them in the frame hives in the bee houses described above. Only then, when we were able to examine the brood during the breeding season, did Dr Smith find traces of European foulbrood in some hives, but the bees seemed to have resistance to it.

In Dr Smith's book Beekeeping in the Tropics there are diagrams of the type of concrete bee house he used. These were very effective as concrete has a high specific heat and is a good thermal conductor; thereby keeping the inside of the building relatively cool. Several years ago I retired from the Ministry of Defence where they kept explosives in concrete buildings for the same reason. Concrete appears to act as a heat sink, soaking up heat from its surroundings without itself gaining much increase in temperature.

lan Friend, UK

Tanzania: beekeeping present

I acknowledge receipt of BfD Journal 75 with sponsorship provided by Bees for Development Trust. This magazine has broadened my knowledge in beekeeping. Outstanding in this issue was Cement hives - an environmentally friendly alternative to wooden boxes. Thank you for being there for us.

Christopher Saboi, Eldoret

Training helps the way ahead

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been living and working for two years with a mental health charity. I set up a beekeeping project with the local community as a means of helping some villagers (especially youth) to help themselves. I did some initial theory training and then have used a contact you gave me (Israel Oninyechi from Umuahia) for practical and further theory training. He has been fantastic and the project is going really well.

I have also had support from the local Agricultural University who run forestry and apiculture courses where Professor Caroline Akwuchukwu is the Head of the Department. I had a really good response from friends here and bought 20 hives so far, plus protective clothing for the six trainees. Just to say thank you for all your help and that we are on the way!

Polly Eaton

Progressive beekeeper seeks partnership

I am Fred Musisi in Kampala and am pleased to be writing to Re you through the contact of B/D Journal. Since | started beekeeping a few years ago, my apiary has been growing tremendously with a good number of colonised hives, mostly frame and top-bar hives, plus local basket hives. My constraints are lack of funds for training manuals, protective clothing, and the necessary materials for general expansion. I am seeking business partnerships with people interested in sharing ideas and know-how for mutual benefit. I intend to export honey in the future: Uganda's honey is of the best quality in the whole world, free from antibiotics and pesticides, and enriched due to the natural environment.

If you are interested contact me - I look forward to early responses

Contact Fred Musisi via Bees for Development

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