Where Have All the Bees Gone?
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:40 pm
In search of the lost bees
January 4, 2019
Where have all Siem Reap’s bees gone?
That’s the question posed by Siem Reap’s Dani Jump, a ‘beekeeping extensionist’ who helps beekeepers get the best honey for their money, and also runs bee tours for tourists.
“The bee situation here now is pretty grave,” says Dani. “I’ve had to cancel countless bee tours in recent years, and haven’t sold even a drop of honey in Siem Reap in the past two years.”
In 2004, Jump and two bee-minded partners set up Bees Unlimited, to train Cambodian beekeepers in sustainable bee management and to show tourists the life of bees in the wild.
The start-up spiel said Bees Unlimited was, “Highlighting the unique and dying tradition of rafter beekeeping of the Giant Honeybee, Apis dorsata, practiced in several villages not far from Siem Reap, in Northwest Cambodia, and the efforts of a three-man team (one, a traditional honey-hunter and rafter beekeeper himself) to turn this dry season activity practiced by a few into a sustainable livelihood to benefit many.”
Later Bees Unlimited became “Bees Unlimited – Your Temple Tour Alternative”, thanks to sage advice from Dani’s wife.
“At one point my wife suggested I abandon my passion for bees and beekeeping, and attempt something else, as she felt that the work with bees was not putting enough food on our table,” Dani says.
“Hence, BU-YTTA was born. Solo travelers, couples, and families are the rule as clients, as I prefer to share a more intimate tour experience.”
Group tours are out, as are temples.
“Just food, culture, daily life in a rural setting, bees, the natural environment, life along the Tonle Sap, local markets, etc – life away from the temples and tourists,” he says. “A winning formula. Given that we’re highly rated on TripAdvisor, we must be doing something right!”
“Around 2003 I heard that a beekeeping tradition involving giant honeybees (Apis dorsata) was an on-going practice not far from Siem Reap.
“That piqued my curiosity, and I was rewarded one day with a visit to the area with staff of the local Community Forest Department. What I saw was, as a beekeeper, unbelievable.”
He discovered that the wild colonies were being harvested in a slash-and-burn way that simply killed the entire colony.
“I immediately realized that there was work to do here,” Dani says, “To encourage local honey-hunters to harvest their colonies in a sustainable manner. I made it my mission.”
But unfortunately, despite best efforts, it’s mission unaccomplished because the dramatic bee decline is partly due to continued use of devastating harvest techniques.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50565722/i ... lost-bees/
January 4, 2019
Where have all Siem Reap’s bees gone?
That’s the question posed by Siem Reap’s Dani Jump, a ‘beekeeping extensionist’ who helps beekeepers get the best honey for their money, and also runs bee tours for tourists.
“The bee situation here now is pretty grave,” says Dani. “I’ve had to cancel countless bee tours in recent years, and haven’t sold even a drop of honey in Siem Reap in the past two years.”
In 2004, Jump and two bee-minded partners set up Bees Unlimited, to train Cambodian beekeepers in sustainable bee management and to show tourists the life of bees in the wild.
The start-up spiel said Bees Unlimited was, “Highlighting the unique and dying tradition of rafter beekeeping of the Giant Honeybee, Apis dorsata, practiced in several villages not far from Siem Reap, in Northwest Cambodia, and the efforts of a three-man team (one, a traditional honey-hunter and rafter beekeeper himself) to turn this dry season activity practiced by a few into a sustainable livelihood to benefit many.”
Later Bees Unlimited became “Bees Unlimited – Your Temple Tour Alternative”, thanks to sage advice from Dani’s wife.
“At one point my wife suggested I abandon my passion for bees and beekeeping, and attempt something else, as she felt that the work with bees was not putting enough food on our table,” Dani says.
“Hence, BU-YTTA was born. Solo travelers, couples, and families are the rule as clients, as I prefer to share a more intimate tour experience.”
Group tours are out, as are temples.
“Just food, culture, daily life in a rural setting, bees, the natural environment, life along the Tonle Sap, local markets, etc – life away from the temples and tourists,” he says. “A winning formula. Given that we’re highly rated on TripAdvisor, we must be doing something right!”
“Around 2003 I heard that a beekeeping tradition involving giant honeybees (Apis dorsata) was an on-going practice not far from Siem Reap.
“That piqued my curiosity, and I was rewarded one day with a visit to the area with staff of the local Community Forest Department. What I saw was, as a beekeeper, unbelievable.”
He discovered that the wild colonies were being harvested in a slash-and-burn way that simply killed the entire colony.
“I immediately realized that there was work to do here,” Dani says, “To encourage local honey-hunters to harvest their colonies in a sustainable manner. I made it my mission.”
But unfortunately, despite best efforts, it’s mission unaccomplished because the dramatic bee decline is partly due to continued use of devastating harvest techniques.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50565722/i ... lost-bees/
