by Mathew John

It has been a long seven months since work on this got underway but the dream has been a few years old. One would always have expected that a shop in Ooty, the tourist hub of this district would have seen us setting up something there first, but it has been a reverse process – Kotagiri (1999), Coonoor (2001) and now Ooty (2006). However, this is different and cool. We have a Honey & Bee Museum, a first of its kind, definitely in this part of the world. It has sections on Bee Biology, Honey Hunting, Bees of India, Beekeeping, etc. – right now, it is essentially, pictorial. We hope to add more material slowly building a database of information, so that interested folks can grasp issues in depth. The Museum section is supplemented by a children’s playroom where they can have a great time messing around with wax. Another room hopes to multi-task as a library, audiovisual and meeting room. Still a long way to go…

The inauguration was a great affair with so much support from the public and the civil administration. Mrs. Meena Gupta, Secretary to the government of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs was there to open the Museum and took extremely keen interest in all the information displayed. This was later followed in the evening, by a brainstorm on a `National Tribal Honey Network’– most of the honey produced in our country is collection from the wild but none of it is ever acknowledged nor is the skillful activity given due recognition. Hopefully, this effort will go some way in trying to address the myriad of issues that face the adivasis.

The support from the bees is something that should not be forgotten! Yes, you read it right – five days before the inauguration, a swarm of the giant Rock Bees Apis dorsata decided to make the verandah of the museum, their home. The excitement and thrill that ran through everybody was fantastic. Their presence had to force us to change the entrance to the museum but I guess nobody bothered.

The Green Shop was inaugurated by Mr. Santosh Misra, Collector of the Nilgiris. This section will stock goods for sale not only from the projects of Keystone but from various parts of the country. However, each of the products, organisations have been selected with care. They should uphold certain ideals which have been put up as a charter in the shop – organic, fair trade, small producers, indigenous crafts – lofty ideals, maybe, but something to hold on to.

Initial support for the project has come from the green Hotel in Mysore (through the Tzedakah Trust) and the Darwin Initiative, UK.

Email: Mathew John
kf[AT]keystone-foundation.org  (replace [AT] with @)
URL: www.keystone-foundation.org