Projekt Bees in the Himo Tree Nursery
Status:
laufend
Projektlaufzeit:
2021 - 2031
Ansprechpartner*in:
Heike Wiese
GPS-Koordinaten:
Partner:
The first bee colonies have arrived
Well, there has actually been a bee colony here for years, in the chimney of the old kitchen building.
As we wanted to renovate the kitchen anyway, we took this opportunity to implement the idea of beekeeping in the Himo Tree Nursery with the bee colony that had settled here.
An expert beekeeper from Kibaha helped us to relocate the bees and introduced us to the basics of Tanzanian beekeeping. This differs considerably from German beekeeping.
In Germany, beekeeping is much more targeted. Queens are bred, the varroa mite is combated, colonies are divided and the swarming instinct is usually suppressed. One of the consequences of all this is that gentle bee colonies are raised, which makes the honey harvest much easier.
In all our bee projects, we only work with wild honey bees. Although they are not really dangerous, they are not exactly gentle when it comes to checking the hives or even harvesting honey. Work on the hives is therefore usually carried out in the evening, especially in the case of top bar hives, where the honey harvest represents a considerable intrusion into the bee colony.
And how do you get a bee colony in Tanzania?
It is not common to buy colonies or queens. The hives are usually prepared in such a way that they are attractive to wild honey bees. To do this, the empty boxes are rubbed vigorously with lemongrass on the inside. The first curious bees usually come by then.
Then heat the beeswax and drizzle it on the ledges where the bees will later build the combs. Wax is also applied to the entrance hole.
We started with so-called top bar hives, which are hung high up in the trees. These have the great advantage that they also protect the tree, as the prevailing fear of bees in Tanzania means that a tree with beehives is ignored when searching for firewood.
However, honey harvesting is quite complicated here. Someone always has to climb up the tree (in the dark) to lower the hive. That alone means stress for the bee colony.
The lack of separation between the honey chamber and brood chamber also represents a major intrusion into the colony during the honey harvest, which often makes the bees aggressive.
This is why we are now increasingly implementing commercial bee hives, which are constructed in exactly the same way as in Germany. Only in Tanzania they are mostly made of wood. But the system is the same; there are one or more honey rooms separated from the brood chamber, which cannot be visited by the queen. A bee escape is used before the honey harvest, which means that there are hardly any bees left in the honey room on the day of the harvest and the colony is therefore hardly disturbed.
Furthermore, working with the bees is made considerably easier by the platforms for the hives, which are set up at working height.
Currently our best model with metal stand
Call for donations: Support for beehives!
Help us to support the bee population in the Kilimanjaro region! With your donation, we can purchase urgently needed beehives that will benefit both biodiversity and local beekeepers.
Donate now and become part of our mission for the bees!