Sindh’s honey hunters stay sweet on survival despite stings

HYDERABAD: Akhtar Hussain, a daily wager, working in an agriculture field prefers to collect honey during the season starting from March, April, May and June or September-October. During the season, he travels daily towards tree groves and fruit orchards in search of beehives and collect little honey in bottles that he can later sell for money.

In his understanding, he gets merely Rs300-400 daily for his work in agriculture fields during normal days, while honey hunting can earn him Rs2000—3000 daily, depending on the availability of beehives.

The authenticity of its purity can be measured from the low rates, as greedy lot sells a liter bottle of adulterated honey for Rs700—800/litre only, by mixing sugar or other materials in it, compared to prices of original, available at Rs2000—3000 per liter.

Hussain said, “Obviously, everybody wants to keep this valuable natural treat homes to use for curing ailments or self-consumption, but most of the people cannot afford it in these days”.

Selling honey is the source of livelihood for several people in villages, who collect it from different areas hanging on trees and bushes.

When the spring/plant flowering season starts, these people adopt this practice for a few months to earn a little extra for their families by selling honey to direct customers or shops in the local market.

Veteran honey collectors residing near the forest villages recall the blissful days of the past when they used to collect more honeydew for sale and keep little at homes for family members. But now, they say, neither is there left any forest cover, nor are there as many beehives as they used to be in the bygone golden days to attract collectors.

Depleting forests, rangelands, groves, increasing use of chemical input to agriculture crops and persistent water scarcity in the river and canals have together contributed to the disappearance of beehives and caused the biodiversity to shrink.

Wherever the river flows, providing water to irrigation channels for agriculture crops, flowering seasons of fruits and vegetables always attract honeybees to extract nectar from flowers.

In present day situation, raw honey is the most precious product in market, because the refined honey coming from bee farms have dominated the entire markets.

From the reports gathered from different ecological zones in Sindh province of Pakistan, The News has learned the areas have different kinds of honey having different flavours and qualities depending on to variety of crops, flowers, fruits and herbal plants, wherefrom these bees collect nectar.

Obviously, the riverine forests have been cleaned for agriculture purposes, leaving a small patch of trees to remind its glorious past. The farmers and herders residing in the villages situated on both the sides of the river seem lucky always to collect honey for their own consumption or spare little for sale.

Ali Gul Khoso from a village near Unarpur town, once a prosperous market of forest products in Jamshoro district, said, “During these days somebody may see more beehives after flowering season in the area, but only a few people can understand that beginning of spring season is the breeding time for honeybees”. “Thus, traditional honey collectors, being aware, cannot disturb beehives and let the bees to thrive on the fresh nectar from flowers.”

The season of collecting honey was about to start in a few days, he said, adding that the river catchment area was still considered hub of producing honey for sale.

Forest towns, Hala Old in Matiari district and Unarpur town in Jamshoro district have been the major markets of forest products for a long time. Some local shopkeepers in these towns still get raw honey from traditional collectors and display it for sale at their shops.

The rates are different as per the area ranging from Rs1,500/liter to Rs3000/liter in the season. But in winter its cost goes up to Rs4000 per liter, because the pure honey usually seems unavailable in the entire markets during the period.

Ali Sher Hajano, associated with social forestry department to develop nurseries at famous Mayani Forest, said, “There were more beehives everywhere in the thick forest long ago. It was the time when the river Indus used to flow the whole year benefiting the forests, vegetation, and protecting wildlife species”.

But now, Hajano said, the traditional beehives had been replaced by a strange bigger bee species, which was so belligerent that it would kill all kinds of traditional bees instantly. “Therefore, the traditional bees, either have disappeared from the environment or gone rare in some places.”

He said only a small number of people from the forest areas still collect honey for commercial purposes and earn little for the survival of their families.

In fact, the social forestry department has experimented to develop bee farming at Mayani forest, but it was yet to produce it at larger scale.

There may be a lack of coordination to engage local community people to promote alternative sources of income like happening in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Some honey collectors believe the best quality honey comes from Karoonjahr Hills, Nagar Parkar, Tharparkar district. Because there are several herbal plants, which bees are fond of, and are rich in nutrition and useful for herbal medicines.

Some activists from coastal areas say honey from mangrove forests have a different value locally, which fishermen collect and sell in local market.

But they are of the view that due to persistent scarcity of fresh water of the river to the delta, mangroves could not get its share. Now the mangroves forests may get fresh water through the river stream after long time and attract wildlife species, including honeybees.

Some researchers say the killer bee emerged in the environment of Sindh province during 2007-2008 for the first time, which badly impacted traditional honeybee.

The strange bees also attack on both human and animals, when they get close to its hives in thick groves and orchards. It has poisonous stink, which can kill humans or animals instantly.

The large bee builds a hive, weighing between 2.5kg-5kg. Since its taste is salty, the people seem reluctant to use it.

Anyway, there is still a big potential as a large number of traditional honey collectors in different ecological zones earn for their families through this business. There is need of encouraging them with providing incentives and training for farming and value chain mechanism so they may earn enough and live safe, at the time of job market challenges.