Apiculture: Case Study 1, Khasi Hills
Apiculture: Case Study 1, Khasi Hills
| Main Info | ML/KH/AGRI/001: Apiculture, Khasi Hills |
| Name of the Technique | Traditional Apiculture, Khasi Hills |
| Source Publisher | Primary Survey, Khasi Hills, Meghalaya |
| Source Year | 2023 |
| History Of The Technique | Apiculture/ Bee-keeping is another way or means to sustainable livelihood to the people or the community in the state. Apiculture is practiced since time immemorial as a part time job so as to add additional income to the family and are not totally dependent on apiculture for their livelihood. |
| Manufacturing technique | The honey box is made from a wood plank. First the plank are cut into proper size and nailing them into a box shape and seals both end using a plank. He often used cow dung to seal extra hole in the entrance. Initially, he would carve a hole inside a round log and seal the ends with a wooden plank to create his bee hives, but as time went on, he discovered that this method is time consuming, and wastes a lot of woods. So, making of beehive from plank saved him time and money and does not require much experience. |
| Material Composition | Wood Plank, Cow Dung, Filter, Muslin Cloth, Bottle etc. |
| How to implement | Collection and Maintenance: For separation of colonies, he never manually separates the colony, instead he let them do so on their own when they are ready. He placed an empty box close to the old bee hive, and the colony will migrate to the new box by them self when they are ready. He harvests honey once in a year mainly in the month of September, October and November. He never uses smoke to disperse the bees during collection instead, he gently blows them away or gently removed them using his bare hand, and then collect. The honey is separated from the honeycomb by filtering and squeezing it using a Muslin cloth, and then the honey is lightly heated before storing in a clean glass bottle. |
| New R & D leads | Towards the end of the documentation process, it was found that the traditional ways of beekeeping have lost its strive as it is very challenging for the people to maintain them, and the one who uses traditional wooden log for bee rearing says that it has |
| Theme | Traditional Animal Husbandry |
| Sub Theme | Beekeeping |
| Source Publisher | Primary Survey, Khasi Hills, Meghalaya |
| Source Year | 2023 |