Back to news
4 Apr 2018 | Himalica

ICIMOD and SAPLING Project of HKI Collaborate to Promote Beekeeping in Ruma upazila, Bandarban

Under the European Union-funded Support to Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalaya (Himalica) initiative, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) partnered with the Bandarban Hill District Council (BHDC) to train selected lead farmers on modern beekeeping practices in Ruma upazila from 29 October to 3 November 2017. Following training, four out of five participants from Bethel para and three out of five participants from Munlai para took up modern beekeeping.

1 min Read

70% Complete
Md. Abdul Alim Bhuiyan, the training resource person, conducting a session

Encouraged by this result, the Himalica initiative sought collaboration with the Sustainable Agriculture and Production Linked to Improved Nutrition Status, Resilience, and Gender Equity (SAPLING) project—a joint Initiative of Helen Keller International (HKI)-Bangladesh, CARITAS, and USAID—to give continuity to beekeeping development efforts to improve income, health, and nutrition security of hill communities in Bandarban.

Between 19 and 16 February 2018 at the Zomi Resort in Ruma, ICIMOD and SAPLING jointly held a training for 20 lead farmers, 16 of them women, from four pilot paras of Himalica and SAPLING: Bethel, Eden, Lairumpi, and Name of Ruma upazila. Women in particular were encouraged to participate in the training. Accommodations were made for women to bring their children to the venue, which then helped to facilitate the higher rate of participation among women.

The training was facilitated by Uma Partap from ICIMOD and Md. Abdul Alim Bhuiyan, an experienced trainer and beekeeper and a successful honey trader from Dhaka.

The training was conducted through a variety of methods, including lectures, PowerPoint presentations, videos, group discussions, hands-on demonstrations, and storytelling.

The following topics were covered:
  1. Bee management using movable-frame beehives
  2. Colony inspection, cleaning, and feeding
  3. Seasonal bee management
  4. Uniting and dividing colonies
  5. Management and control of swarming, absconding, robbing, and laying workers
  6. Management and control of bee diseases, pests, and predators
  7. Bee flora and pollination services
  8. Harvesting, processing, value addition, and management of honey and beeswax quality
  9. Safe use of agro-chemicals and pesticides to protect bees and pollinators from their harmful impacts

As part of the training, the participants visited the apiary of Zing Bawm, a local beekeeper in Munlai para, where they observed the symptoms of swarming in the colony, the presence of drone brood, queen cells, and division of the colony. They interacted with Zing and were surprised to learn that he had started beekeeping barely two months earlier after being trained by ICIMOD and BHDC.

Following the training, participants received certificates of participation and beekeeping equipment, including a beehive, a bee veil, swarm bag, and queen gate.

Participants thanked SAPLING/HKI and ICIMOD for conducting the training and expressed their commitment to start beekeeping immediately by capturing bee swarms during the upcoming swarming season.

The beekeeping training has been consistently successful. It has inspired participants to take up beekeeping and start beekeeping enterprises to improve their own livelihoods and those of other local famers in Bandarban and beyond.

2
3
1. Participants observing a bee comb to identify different castes of bees and stages of bee brood 2. Participants preparing a bee floral calendar 3. Participants on exposure visit to Zing Bawm apiary in Munlai para and observing the colony division

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

28 Sep 2015 News
Investigating Lemthang Tsho (Lake) outburst in Bhutan

Early in the evening on 28 June 2015, a yak herder ...

11 Dec 2018 HIMAP
Mountains Matter in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Cycle

But things are changing. The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will feature a ...

22 Sep 2015 News
Policy conference supports action on adaptation

Experts working across the Indus River Basin came together during a ...

24 Jul 2019 CBFEWS
Partnering with private enterprise and communities to manage flood risk

Zarnash Bibi, a teacher from Pakistan says that flood early warning systems have put vulnerable communities at ease: “Earlier, we ...

3 Sep 2019 KDKH
The KDKH’s transboundary working group to study impacts of GLOF events in the Koshi basin

In June 2019, a study that used declassified military satellite data showed that a staggering

13 Dec 2016 News
International Mountain Day Celebrated in Dhaka, Bangladesh

ICIMOD participated in a discussion and mountain fair programme organized by the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts ...

Best Practices to Counter Climate Change Shared in Gilgit-Baltistan

A policy roundtable, Building Climate Resiliency in Gilgit-Baltistan, held at the Karakorum International University on 26 June 2018, emphasized the ...

18 Apr 2017 News
International Symposium on the Cryosphere in a Changing Climate

The two share their experiences from the event: Inka Koch, Glacier Hydrologist, ICIMOD It was an honour to present our research on ...