People and Process
Traditional Beekeepers in Meghalaya - the Ethics of Bee Keeping
You love honey. Everyone does. But do you know the way honey is processed? You may not know it but that favourite bottle of honey on your kitchen shelf may have not been processed ethically. Wait a minute, is there even something like processing honey ethically? It's natural food. The bees make it, so there can’t be any foul play, right?
Honey Bee Farming Entrepreneur of Khetri Assam
Honey is a well-loved food; hardly anyone will disagree. Honey can come from many floral sources, giving it the distinctive flavour of the flowers the nectar is drawn from - wildflowers, multi-flora, mustard, orange…wherever the bees go foraging, they regurgitate honey of that flavour. Some time ago Zizira explorers had got in touch with a beekeeper from Assam’s Kamrup district for his honey derived from the nectar of litchi blossoms. As unprocessed honey is a product health conscious people are looking for, the team decided to visit the beekeeper and find out more. In late June 2017 we took a tourist cab to Jorabad, 80 km north of Shillong on the Shillong-Guwahati highway, and from there another vehicle eastwards to Khetri, 35 km away.
Remarkable Practices Of Honey Beekeeping In Meghalaya
Honey bees are, perhaps, one of the few insects that are found almost everywhere in the world. They have been around for 35 million years. In comparison, humans have inhabited the planet for only about 1.5 to 2 million years. Honey bees and humans are interconnected in many ways.
If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more animals, no more men. – Albert Einstein
What Farmers Learn at RRTC Meghalaya About Honey Bee!
Rural Resource and Training Center (RRTC) is an autonomous organization working with farmers and training them on sustainable farming techniques. RRTC trains farmers in organic farming and low-cost agricultural practices to make the best use of their land and other resources. Beekeeping is one such sustainable technique which RRTC offers as training to the farmers. Farmers here are trained on collecting honey, beeswax and taught how it can boost their farming produce. Honey bee culture is called Apiculture.
A Honey Beekeeping Entrepreneur in Meghalaya
Times are difficult for job seekers. Like other states, Meghalaya too is teeming with youngsters looking for employment. At times, many youth are forced to take up jobs at levels below what they could get with their qualifications. In this scenario, the one portal of hope is entrepreneurship, and private enterprise holds promise for people who dare. Here is the story of Kong Iba Blah, mother of two, who has dared to venture into beekeeping.