"V Beekeeping & Development 61

MARKETING HONEY & BEESAPIS DORSATA IN WEST KAby Vincent Mulder1, Valentinus Heri2 and Trevor Wickham5

'Committee of Science & Technology for Vietnam, Wageningen, Netherlands-LSM Riak Bumi, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia'Rainforest Solutions Project, Canada

In B&D59 the authors explained the process of honey and wax collection inthe Danau Sentarum National Park in Kalimantan, Indonesia. In this articlethe marketing possibilities are discussed.In late 1994, the Danau Sentarum National Park(DSNP) Conservation Project began a series ofcommunity-based income generating activities.These were 'entry-points' to gain local interestin other management and conservationinitiatives of the Project.

The rationale was that by facilitating improvedcommunity incomes for products made orharvested on a sustainable basis, the Projectwould establish greater incentive for communitiesto improve the management of the Park'sresources. Through skills training, assistance inproduct development, and improved marketing forpreviously unused or under-utilised naturalresources, the DSNP Project helped increase thevalue of these resources and products to benefitboth the natural resources and the communitiesof DSNP

This work initially began with a plan to bottlelocally collected DSNP honey and market itdirectly to consumers in Pontianak. As honey wasgenerally sold through a variety of traders beforereaching the market, honey harvesters receiveda meagre portion of its end-sale value. By sellingdirect to Pontianak, the Project hoped to increasesignificantly the value of the honey for theproducers. Based on the same principles,the Project also embarked upon similar activitiesinvolving the design, production and marketingof beeswax candles.

Because of the remote location and conservationstatus of the Park, honey collected there isorganic and free of additives. This combined withthe honey's unique natural flavours, traditionalharvesting techniques, and its association as anon-timber forest product supporting localcommunity development, make this producthighly marketable. In the 18-month period fromMarch 1995 to October 1996, the DSNP Projectmarketed over 2,000 kg in Pontianak, Jakarta,Riau and Singapore. Demonstrating the broadmarketability of this product, an additional 1,000kgwas also shipped to the UK in 1997.

Due to the similarity between the tikung collectionsystem practised by the honey hunters in theflooded forests of DSNP and the rafter honey boardsystem in southern Vietnam, the DSNP Project wasapproached by Vincent Mulder to facilitate anexchange between DSNP honey collectors and thepeople who collect honey in the seasonally floodedMetaleuca forests of the U Minh Forest in theMinh Hai Province of southern Vietnam.

The first part of the exchange took place inJanuary 1996. The visit identified numeroussimilarities between the two traditional systems,but also highlighted techniques that couldimprove bee and colony management, honeyharvesting, and wax processing in DSNPAddressing some of these issues would helpensure the long-term sustainability of the bee

colonies, increase the quantity andquality of the yields, and therebyadvance the goals of conservationby improving the financial viabilityof the honey and beeswaxenterprises.

These and other issues werediscussed with honey harvestersfrom eight villages during VincentMulder's visit. However, becausehoney collection techniques havebeen practised in the same wayfor generations, most individualsremained sceptical about theadvantages of Mulder's advice.To overcome this, it was suggestedthat honey collectors from DSNPshould make a field visit to theU Minh Forest where they could seereal examples of the recommendedchanges in management andharvesting practices for themselves.This would be an excellent way topromote improvement to the tikungsystem in DSNP

A Bees for Development publication

Honey collectors visit VietnamThree people from DSNP participated in thestudy tour, including two honey collectors fromDSNP and one Project staff member experiencedin bees. A representative of the IndonesianMinistry of Forestry also joined. The group wasled by the Natural Resources Advisor of theDanau Sentarum Conservation Project.

During the Vietnamese Study Tour, the DSNPdelegates attended a two-day seminar and fieldtrip where they exchanged their experiences withtheir Vietnamese counterparts concerning honeyboard placement, honeycomb management,harvesting, quality control and production andmarketing of honey and beeswax. The delegatesalso attended the 3rd Asian ApiculturalAssociation Conference in Hanoi.

Improving DSNP's Tikung systemIn general, the DSNP participants gained agreater understanding about the value of beesand bee products and the various types ofbeekeeping and management systems throughoutAsia. They became more aware of the significantinterest in, and importance of, their honeyharvesting system. In particular, they wereexposed to ideas, techniques and concepts thathave the potential to produce larger quantities ofimproved quality honey and beeswax. This haspotential to generate additional income for theircommunities, whilst supporting and reinforcingprinciples of sustainable development.

The following are some of the techniques that theDSNP Project field staff initiated with the honeyharvesters of Danau Sentarum. Following thecompletion of the Indonesia/UK Tropical ForestManagement Programme's support to theConservation Project, a Pontianak-based NGO -Yayasan Dian Tama - with financial assistancefrom the British Embassy in Jakarta and GlobalConcern (Singapore), continued to develop andimplement many of the activities of theConservation Products Trading Enterprise.

WAXFROMFLIMANTAN ~

TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVED TIKUNG BEEKEEPINGCURRENT PRACTICE INDSNP (TIKUNG)

1. Honeycombs are collectedat night when bees aremost docile

Jrtaes are distracted fromibs with smoke from

omouldering torches withburning embers.

3. Honeycombs are harvestedonly once per season.

4. During honey harvest thecomplete comb is removed.

5. Honeycombs are harvestedwithout the harvesterswearing protective clothing.

6. Honey is generally extractedfrom the combs by squeezingentire combs by hand.

7. Beeswax is oftencontaminated, discarded,or incompletely harvested.

PROBLEMS WITH PRACTICE

• Bees need daylightto navigate. Night harvestresults in bees losingorientation, falling in thewater and dying

• Remaining bees scatter anddo not build new combs orproduce more honey

• High bee mortality as aresult of bees being burned

• Potential forest fire hazard

• Potential quality of honeyharvest is under-utilised

• Full financial value of waxand honey is lost

• Bees do not re-settle• Loss of potential future

honey harvests

• Results in rapid harvestingand increased damage tocombs

• Greater likelihood of beemortality

• Fbllen is mixed with honeyresulting in cloudy honeywith less market appeal

• Unhygienic

• Potential quantity of waxharvest is under-utilised

• Additional financial value tocollector is lost

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT

• tf daytime harvesting iscombined with 'selectivecutting' {see 3) it allowsbees to navigate and returnto the comb to continueproducing honey.

• Hand-held 'smokers' can beused to ward off bees withno direct exposure toburning embeis.

• Selected cutting of only thehoney portion of the comb{leaving the brood intact)would permit 2-3 harvestsper season.

• Only the honey part of thecomb is removed

• Possibly remove the broodto prevent swarming

• Some protective gear couldbe used from simple head-nets to gloves

• Combs should be cut intosmall pieces, placed onclean cloth and allowed todrain over night

• A system of melting the waxin boiling water, clothstrained and processing witha stick-wax-press can yieldup to 47% more wax

ADVANTAGE

• Lower bee mortalily duringharvest

• Increased sustainabilityof bee colonies

• Lower bee mortality• Reduced risk of forest fire

• Quantity of honey harvestincreases

• Income to communityincreases

• Incentive to protect forestincreases

• Allows bees to continue to buildtheir nest on the same site

• Combs can be harvestedseveral times in the sameseason

• Additional benefits as abcve

• More time and care can betaken during harvest

• Reduced damage to comband bees

• May ensure fewer hivesremain unharvested

• Quality of honey increases• Incomes to communities

increases• Incentive to protect forest

increases

• Quality and quantity of waxincreases

• Incomes to communityincrease

• Incentive to protect forestincreases

Beekeeping & Development 61

Following the Vietnamese Study Tour, Project staffundertook basic training workshops anddiscussions with honey harvesters on how toimprove their harvesting and processingtechniques. Some of these techniques (ie 1 and 3)involved harvesting demonstrations in the field,while other techniques (ie 6 and 7) were besttaught through the design and distribution of asimple poster showing a step-by-step approachto each technique. For other techniques (ie 2,4and 5) basic prototypes were constructed andshared among honey harvesters to helpdemonstrate their advantages.

ConclusionsOur research shows that DSNP is one of a veryfew remaining communities in south-east Asiawho still collect wild forest Apis dorsata honeyusing a traditional honey board system. As thetikung system has proved to be a viable honeycollection system which provides supplementaryincome for communities with minimal cost orexternal inputs, it would be unfortunate to losethis local knowledge system which is compatiblewith the ecological conditions of DSNP, or todisrupt the natural bee colonies by introducing aframe hive beekeeping system, or other bee species(for example Apis mellifera or Apis cerana).

It is the many unique attributes of this indigenoushoney hunting system that makes the honeya valuable and different product in the marketplace. Therefore future technical assistance inDSNP honey harvesting should focus only onimproving the system that exists (see table) andnot in significantly altering or importing otherbeekeeping systems or bee species.

EXPLANATIONTikung A wooden board or plank underneath

which a colony of the giant honeybee Apis dorsata

builds its nest. The nest of Apis dorsata consists

of one single, large comb, within which are stored

honey, pollen and brood.

USFUL READINGTraditional honey and wax collection fromApis dorsata in West Kalimantan (TrevorWickham et at) B&D59 (2001)

Honey hunters of the Sundarbans (MichaelBurgett) B&D56 (2000)

Honey hunters of the Nilgiris: the road tosustainability (Pratim Roy et a/) B&D45(1997)

Raftering: a traditional technique for honeyand wax production from Apis dorsata inVietnam (Phung Huu Chinh et at) B&D36(1995)

CRANE,E (1999) The world history ofbeekeeping and honey hunting. Duckworth& Co Ltd, London, UK.

MULDER,V; HERI.V (2001) Traditional honeyand wax collection with Apis dorsata in theUpper Kapuas Lake Region, West Kalimantan.In.- Procs 3rd Asian Apiculture AssociationConference on Bee Research and BeekeepingDevelopment, Hanoi, Vietnam, 1996.

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