News around the World

FIJI

Two honey processing plants worth US$50,000 (€40,200) are due to begin operation shortly to support existing market demand for honey. Agriculture Officer Kamal Prasad said “The plants will be managed by Food Processors (Fiji) Limited and Island Apiary and can process 200 kg of honey per shift. The current market demand is 800 tonnes but our production stands at only 395 tonnes per year. The cleanliness and quality of the processed honey will meet international standards and will enable honey products to penetrate the tourist sector”.

Manager of the honey bee project at Labasa Muslim College, Madhu Swami said that when they set up their first hive in 2007 they did not envisage it would one day save students' education. "We started with three hives and gradually expanded and eventually so did our income levels." Last year, the money from the project was used to pay school fees for 11 students, and part of the money that we earned is directed to a welfare fund to assist students with bus fares”.

“Involving students in the project equips them with the skills of bee farming. This is an alternative source of income, something that they can pursue if it all does not work out in the classroom. The target is for continued expansion to a level that will involve all the students at the school,” said Madhu Swamil. The project is sponsored by the Vodafone ATH foundation.

Source: www.fijitimes.com

INDIA

Our primary focus is on improving bee ecology and beekeeping methods that respect the honey bee. Our hope is that by introducing new beekeepers to the rewards of beekeeping, there will eventually be millions of ‘backyard’ beekeepers worldwide who will help bring back bee populations and improve the genetic diversity of honey bees. This diversity is critically important for the survival of this most precious natural resource. With this in view, we have developed a low-cost top-bar hive called the Kissan hive, built of Ferro cement. It costs less than US$1.00 (€0.78) to make. It is lightweight and portable. Being built of Ferro cement it should last a life time if well looked after. We have also brought out a detailed e-book for those who wish to take up beekeeping as a hobby. This e-book details how to make the hive and other equipment such as honey extractor and veil, using every day household items or recycled scrap material. We have tried to keep the start up cost very low and affordable. The Kissan hive could be mass produced. The e-book is available for a small price from www.freebeekeeping.com

The Kissan hive

PHOTO CREDIT © FREEBEEKEEPING.COM

Guru Nath, Nungambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

LEBANON

A celebration was held in February for the launch of an apiculture project under the patronage of the Safadi Corporation and with the collaboration of AIDA Group and funding from AECID, the official Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance. Minister Mohammad Safadi explained that the purpose of the project was to re-vitalise beekeeping in North Lebanon as a means to fight poverty. The Spanish Ambassador to Lebanon, Juan Carlos Gafo, said that over US$400,000 (€320,000) had been donated to the project.

Source: www.iloubnan.info/business

TURKEY

One type of honey harvested in the Black Sea Region is poisonous if consumed in large amounts. This honey is known as ‘crazy honey’ or ‘sour honey’ by the local people. It is Rhododendron honey, Orman gülü or Kumar in Turkish, which is poisonous (grayanotoxin, formerly known as andromedotoxin, acetylandromedol, and rhodotoxin) to humans due to the highly toxic compounds it contains. A well known story about this honey dates back to 399 BC. When Xenopon’s army retreated from Persia across Pontus in Asia Minor near Trabzon in the Black Sea, the soldiers ate Rhododendron honey and were poisoned. It took over a day for the soldiers to recover from the toxic effects.

İrfan Kandemir, Ankara University, Turkey

UGANDA

Adyaka Rural Youth Development Initiative were runners up (northern Uganda) in the Private Sector Foundation’s Annual Community Development Award receiving a certificate and cash prize of UGX500,000 (US$250; €180) towards the purchase of more hives.

Robert Okodia, Adyaka Rural Youth Development Initiative, Lira

Training with Adyaka Rural Youth Development Initiative

PHOTO CREDIT © ROBERT OKODIA

SUDAN

Aguko village is in Warrap State, southern Sudan. Chief Sultan Arkanzelo and local beekeepers showed some of their hives and how they are made. Beekeeping is the principal activity of the Bongo people at Aguko.

A little sorghum is grown but ironstone covers large areas of the land. Hives are constructed from split bamboo woven into a cylinder 2 m long and 30 cm wide. This is then coated with mud mixed with the fibres of a creeper called Luyu (possibly a Cissus species). The fibres are slippery and make the mud stick to the bamboo. The hive is then covered with a layer of grass and a second woven bamboo cover is constructed around it. This 3-4 layer hive ensures that, even if it is put in a tree with little foliage, it will not be affected by the heat from the sun. Each end is closed with a palm leaf circle made from Borassus aethiopum and a third entrance may be made half way along on larger hives.

When the hive is complete a hole is made in the ground and the bark of Vitellaria paradoxa (Shea tree) is burnt and the smoke allowed to infuse the hive for 24 hours. Hives will last 5-8 years if well made. The hive is placed horizontally about 4 m high in a tree to avoid damage when the grass is burned. Hives are placed at any time of year and bees normally enter fairly soon. After about one year of being occupied, the first harvest can be taken. Thereafter two other harvests can be taken. Harvesting is usually in March, May and September with a total of about 10 litres of honey being obtained per year. A special grass is used to produce smoke, and at each harvest, combs are only taken from one half of the hive. A central core of comb is left, and as far as possible only ripe honey is harvested.

Honey forms the main currency for the Bongo people, with any remaining comb being used for brewing. Beekeeping is done only by men, as is all the hive construction work. Honey is sold for approximately SDG4 (US$1.5; €1.0) per 500 ml bottle and beekeepers have no difficulty selling their honey.

I was impressed with the design, care and skill involved in making the hives, which normally take two days to make. I was also impressed by the defensiveness of the bees. Even passing below a hive, one was liable to be attacked and chased for quite a distance!

Paul Latham, Blairgowrie, UK

Several layers make up the hive used by Aguko beekeepers

PHOTOS © PAUL LATHAM

The layered hive ensures that it will not be affected by heat from the sun

Hives are placed about 4 m high in trees to avoid damage when grass is burned