By PANDURANG HEGDE, Appiko/Prakruti
In the month of May, two unique festivals were celebrated under the canopy of green trees in the coconut and mango orchards of Tyagali and Golikai villages near Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district. These festivals were none other than Jenu Habba or the Festival of Honey.
Jyothi, a young girl who participated in the festival said, “I never knew that it would be such fun. It has helped me learn a lot about honey bees and it has also removed the fear of bees in me.”
Like Jyothi, many children and adults enjoyed the taste of fresh honey and the honey comb.
This festival was part of the activities of Prakruti (an offshoot of Appiko or Chipko movement), a non-governmental organisation based in the tropical forests of Western Ghats in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district, to propagate bee keeping and create awareness about the importance of honey bees. In the true spirit of the festival, the entire village and people from the surrounding villages participated in the festival.
The festival was launched with a discussion on the importance of honey bees for nature. Who does the pollination without payment? How important is pollination? Can it be done manually as it is done for vanilla beans? These were some of the queries that were answered in the festival.
The invaluable service provided by the honeybees was brought to the notice of the participants, especially children and youth. The participants discussed the different kinds of honey bees like rock bees (Apis dorsata), thudavi (Apis cerana) and stingless bees (Apis floraea). The festival that kick started with questions and discussions was followed up by practical work with honey bees and bee boxes. After the initial introduction to honey bees, the participants were taken to the bee box. Deepak, a young bee keeper, explained about bee keeping and how the bees are kept in the bee box. The box was opened and the participants were shown the way bee colonies work. They were shown the worker bees, those who go and collect the pollen and honey, and how they keep the entire box clean, dividing work among them. They were also shown the drones which just eat and do no work! Eventually, they were shown the queen bee, the central figure in the bee box, which lays eggs to develop the bee colony.
How do queen bees survive for two to three years laying eggs and oozing pheromone to attract the other bees? The entire life of bees was explained to all the participants who were even allowed to handle both the bees and the honeycomb. Though bees do sting when they are hurt, fortunately during the festival, they were very cooperative and did not sting at all! The participants also got an opportunity to see honeycomb in the upper chamber of the bee box called super. The sealed honey comb was cut and honey was extracted by the hand machine. The fresh honey thus collected was distributed to all the participants along with honeycomb. For first time tasters of finger-licking good fresh honey and the honeycomb, it was indeed a moment of ecstasy.
The participants were also shown products made from bee wax. There were candles that were naturally made from wax paper or foundation sheet. The difference between the candles made of petroleum product that are available in the market and the candles made from bee wax was discussed. There were also products like the bee wax balm and cream for cracked lips. The high potential of bee wax as a source of alternative livelihood was also discussed.
Dr. S. T. Prabhu, an Entomologist from the Forestry College, Sirsi requested the participants to take up bee keeping. According to him, each farmer should keep a bee box to produce honey as this not only provides fresh honey to the family, but also increases his crop yield by pollination.
The youngest participant was two-and-a-half-year-old Govardhan, son of Dharmendra, a bee keeper, who handled the bees without any fear or hesitation! He was the centre of attraction in the festival of bees.
After the taste of fresh honey, participants were keen to know how honey bees could be propagated, how bee colonies in the wild could be located, how diseases that affect the bees could be tackled and how they could become bee keepers. As questions kept mounting, the organisers felt the purpose of the festival was achieved!
Bee keepers Deepak and Ganesh were honoured for their silent service to propagate bee keeping in the region.
The villagers of Tyagali, thrilled by the positive response the festival received, said, “We want to make this festival an annual event and next year we are planning to celebrate it on a grand scale.”
Pandurang Hegde
Appiko/Prakruti, Hulemalgi Building
Chowkinath, Sirsi 581401
Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India,
Tel: 08384-225139
Email: appiko@sancharnet.in
