• Beekeeping profession in the history of exploring Ca Mau land
  • Early season beekeeping

People of U Minh Ha cajuput forest take boats into the cajuput forests, crossing reeds to reach the place to clean the beehive.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien has more than 30 beehives. In the afternoon, he prepares some tools such as torches, protective nets, gloves... and goes by boat to clean the grass, cut off the old beehives, leaving only a part for the bees to develop into a new nest. As for the small beehives, they will be completely cut off.

People who clean beehives must use torches, protective nets, gloves...

On average, a person cleans 5-10 beehives per day. A beehive is usually used for up to 3 bee seasons (3 years). After harvesting, people replace it with a new one (using cajuput or custard apple trees), put it back in the same place or find some other places in the forest to put the beehives.

Small, undeveloped hives are removed to prepare for new bees to build nests.

Mr. Hien said: “During the rainy season, take advantage of the time from May to September of the lunar calendar to clean up small beehives and old bees. Clean up once a year to prepare for the bees to return. It is a traditional profession, I cannot give up. If with 30 hives, it is estimated that at the end of the bee season (from September of the previous year to May of the following lunar year), we can harvest about 150 liters of honey, sometimes more. Each liter costs about 500 thousand VND”.

With many years of experience in trussing, Mr. Nguyen Van Dao (Hamlet 13, Khanh An Commune) shared: "Normally, the end of the truss must be about 1.2 m above the ground; the top of the truss must be about 1.8 m above the ground, facing the sunrise."

Enjoy pure honey on the way to clean the beehive.

The work of keeping and cleaning beehives is not only a livelihood for people living under the canopy of cajuput forests but also a traditional occupation of U Minh people that has been preserved and maintained for many generations. In 2019, the profession of keeping beehives was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

U Minh Ha cajuput forest area is where many honey bees gather.

Performed by Nhat Minh

Source: https://baocamau.vn/mua-don-keo-ong-giua-rung-u-minh-a120748.html