Climate Action Peru Project #25520

Beekeeping with Indigenous People in the Amazon

by OnePlanet

Beekeeping with Indigenous People in the Amazon

Project Report | Aug 22, 2018
Honey Tasting: Teaching about Bees and Earning Sustainable Income

By Michael Gilmore | Project Leader

Maijuna beekeeper with visitors

Over the past year, we have been working closely with the Maijuna as well as other partners (Amazon Explorama Lodges and Amazon Rainforest Workshops) to develop educational programs for visitors to Maijuna lands. These educational programs are geared toward university and high school groups from the US as well as ecotourists with an emphasis on conservation and sustainable development projects in Maijuna lands. A focal point of these programs is the stingless beekeeping project and we have trained the Maijuna to effectively teach visitors about the biology and ecology of Amazonian stingless bees as well as the details of the project.

These hands-on bee programs culminate in opening hives and doing a honey tasting which is always the highlight of the visitor experience. We can think of no better way to learn about native stingless bees than to have a firsthand peek and taste directly from the hive. And, the first question that people always ask after tasting the honey is: “Can I buy some?” In response to these requests, we have been working with the Maijuna to develop a marketing and sales strategy that earns them a premium price for their honey. For a 2-oz bottle of stingless bee honey the Maijuna earn $3 selling it directly to visitors, which is ten times what they would earn on the regional market! Our goal is to ramp up direct visitor sales as well as honey production in the coming months.

And, by the way, we have structured things so all visitors to the Maijuna community pay an entrance fee to take part in the educational programs and their visit culminates in a craft fair where Maijuna artisans sell traditional crafts to visitors. Over the past three months alone, 6 university/high school groups consisting of 130 students in total as well as over 150 ecotourists visited the Maijuna bringing in even more sustainable income to the community. All of this is helping to boost the income of the Maijuna which is critical since each family has traditionally earned less than $2 per day.

The Maijuna beekeepers are incredibly excited about the future of the project and we hope that you are too! New families are looking to join the beekeeping project and funding travel costs to their communities to train and support them is only $250. Thanks so much for your continued support and we promise that we will continue to keep you updated as this project progresses!

Bottles of honey

Stingless bee hive

Stingless bees

Maijuna baskets for sale to visitors

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May 25, 2018
Inclusive and Sustainable - A Perfect Match

By Michael Gilmore | Project Leader

Young Beekeepers

Every time we go out to Maijuna lands to run a stingless beekeeping workshop it reminds us of all the different things that we love about this project. One of the best parts is how inclusive the project is. Stingless beekeeping is something that can be done by all segments of society (young and old, women and men) ultimately empowering all community members. The Maijuna beekeepers that we have been working with include little girls less than 10 years of age (pictured here) all the way up to older men and women in their 70s. That’s what makes this so much fun and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Another reason why we are so passionate about this project is that it is providing critically important sustainable income to Maijuna families, supporting their desire to conserve and sustainably use their ancestral lands and biocultural resources. On average, each Maijuna family earns less than $2/day and they have been searching for sustainable ways to earn a living. Without viable sustainable income generating activities such as stingless beekeeping, the allure of logging, overhunting, and other unsustainable activities may be too great for the Maijuna to ignore given the need to provide for their families. So, this project is providing the Maijuna with real and meaningful sustainable income that they can use to better the lives of their families.

We couldn’t be happier with our partnership with the Maijuna and how this project has unfolded. We continue to increase the number of Maijuna beekeepers involved in the project, touching more and more families along the way. Please help us to achieve the Maijuna’s vision for a more sustainable future by continuing to support our stingless beekeeping work with the Maijuna. Thanks so much for your continued support – your generosity has helped to make this exciting project possible!

Extracting Honey

Rainforest Sunset

Capped Heron in Maijuna Lands

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Feb 23, 2018
Opening Eyes and Thinking Big

By Michael Gilmore | Project Leader

Learning from other stingless beekeepers

The past 3 months have been filled with all the normal project activity in Maijuna lands that we know and love: running community-level stingless beekeeping workshops, working on the family-level to increase the number of hives and improve hive management practices, recruiting new families into the project, and the list goes on. However, one thing that was quite out of the ordinary and even more exciting than normal was a 3-day trip that we organized for Maijuna beekeepers to the city of Iquitos, Peru to meet other stingless beekeepers and exchange experiences. Really, this was a trip to open their eyes and to think big.

It’s one thing to tell the Maijuna what this stingless beekeeping project can mean for their community and families and it’s another thing entirely to directly show them. On the way to Iquitos we stopped by the apiary of a well-established stingless beekeeper named Carlos M. who has over 50 hives, earning him more sustainable income from beekeeping than the Maijuna have ever imagined. For the 15 Maijuna beekeepers present, this was a chance for them to see with their own eyes what a well-managed and highly productive apiary looks like and to ask question after question of someone that started from scratch like they did.

The following day in Iquitos, there was a daylong meeting that pulled together stingless beekeepers from around the area to share experiences and lessons learned. The Maijuna gave a presentation about their community-based stingless beekeeping project as did others, ultimately opening a space for dialogue and exchange. This was followed by visits to 5 other apiaries of successful stingless beekeepers in the area that again allowed the Maijuna to learn directly from others. Opening hives, discussing management practices, learning by doing – there is no better way for the Maijuna stingless beekeepers to learn.

Heading back to Maijuna lands from Iquitos there truly was a palpable sense of excitement and buzz on the boat. With our goal of opening their eyes and getting them to think big about the future of the project achieved, we are more committed than ever to the long-term success of this project. Thanks so much for your continued support – your generosity has helped to make this exciting project possible!

Successful and highly productive apiary

Project presentations

Opening hives and learning by doing

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