Hindukush Beekeeping – The Bee Project

Music; Ambience: Bee hive sounds

In a region of the Himalayas in Nepal, local farmers have been raising bees for generations. They keep their bees in hollowed out logs, and harvest a special type of high altitude honey prized for its medicinal properties. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Farooq Ahmad is coordinator of an international Project that is trying to help these farmers become better beekeepers.

“According to the tradition, in Hindukush, Himalayan region, farmers are keeping these bees in log hives, and they keep these log hives in their backyard gardens. These bees keep on coming and going, Farmers harvest wax and honey for their livelihoods, and at the same time, bees provide the services of pollination to the mountain farming systems and mountain crops.”

There are two goals: to preserve the bees which are essential to the local ecosystem– and also, to help farmers cultivate better bee colonies that yield more honey. Farooq and his team are sharing modern beekeeping techniques first developed by Chinese scientists a half century ago.

“Chinese are producing in average about 33 kilograms of honey per year from each colony of indigenous bees. While our Nepali farmers are producing 2 kilograms of honey. Actually, they have selected these bees, 0 years ago, and now their bees are producing more, they have better management practices, we’re trying to bring those management practices from China to the farmers of Nepal and other parts of Hindukush, Himalayas.”

We’ll hear more about Beekeeping in the Hindukush region of the Himalayas in future programs. Pulse of the Planet is presented with support provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.

Hindukush Beekeeping - The Bee Project

Hindukush beekeepers benefit from the knowledge of an international bee farming project.

Air Date:08/02/2012

Scientist:

Transcript:

Hindukush Beekeeping - The Bee Project

Music; Ambience: Bee hive sounds

In a region of the Himalayas in Nepal, local farmers have been raising bees for generations. They keep their bees in hollowed out logs, and harvest a special type of high altitude honey prized for its medicinal properties. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Farooq Ahmad is coordinator of an international Project that is trying to help these farmers become better beekeepers.

"According to the tradition, in Hindukush, Himalayan region, farmers are keeping these bees in log hives, and they keep these log hives in their backyard gardens. These bees keep on coming and going, Farmers harvest wax and honey for their livelihoods, and at the same time, bees provide the services of pollination to the mountain farming systems and mountain crops."

There are two goals: to preserve the bees which are essential to the local ecosystem-- and also, to help farmers cultivate better bee colonies that yield more honey. Farooq and his team are sharing modern beekeeping techniques first developed by Chinese scientists a half century ago.

"Chinese are producing in average about 33 kilograms of honey per year from each colony of indigenous bees. While our Nepali farmers are producing 2 kilograms of honey. Actually, they have selected these bees, 0 years ago, and now their bees are producing more, they have better management practices, we're trying to bring those management practices from China to the farmers of Nepal and other parts of Hindukush, Himalayas."

We'll hear more about Beekeeping in the Hindukush region of the Himalayas in future programs. Pulse of the Planet is presented with support provided by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.