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Report 3 (of 6): Smart Hives
- Tanzania
Smart Hives - Tanzania
See also another filmed project in Kenya, 'Bee
Fair', to read about the basics of beekeeping.
Introduction
Beekeeping is widely practised in
South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Tanzania, but is less
well known in other parts of Africa. Honey is a key
ingredient for a local type of beer as well as being
consumed as a food, while beeswax is used for making
candles and creams. The demand for these products
means that beekeeping can provide a useful supplement
to household income. Bees also aid in the pollination
of some crops, helping biodiversity conservation in
local regions.
Honey production in Tanzania has been
dependent on smallholder beekeepers using traditional
hives (typically hollowed-out logs or clay pots) for
African honeybees (Apis mellifera), which are
plentiful in the wild. Over 95 per cent of beekeeping
is practised in savannah forests (or Miombo woodlands
as they are known), while the remainder is carried
out in banana and coffee plantations where trees are
used for hanging hives.
Beekeeping is attractive to poor households
in Tanzania because it can be practised by people
engaged in a diverse range of productive activities,
including farmers, pastoralists and hunter-gathers,
and in different environmental conditions such as
forest, farmland, and peri-urban areas. Although the
income generated is small, it can still be significant
for poor households. Yet while traditional beekeeping
is practised widely, a combination of poor equipment,
organisation and production and underdeveloped markets
means that local communities have not been gaining
the full benefit of this potentially lucrative occupation.
Low-technology Beekeeping
Beehives in Tanzania range in complexity
from the simple traditional hive, made from locally
available materials, to movable-frame hives such as
the Langstroth (described in Bee Fair) which can
house high populations of bees and so maximise the
honey crop each season. Low-technology hives attempt
to combine the manageability and efficient honey harvest
of the movable-frame hive with the low cost of the
traditional hive.
In top-bar hives, sometimes known
as box hives, bees are encouraged to construct their
combs from the undersides of a series of top bars.
These top bars allow individual combs to be lifted
from the hive by the beekeeper. One disadvantage of
top-bar hives is that they produce less honey than
the other types, although many argue that the honey
produced is superior in quality.
The Njiro Wildlife Research Centre
in Arusha is a centre for appropriate technology and
information on tropical bees and beekeeping. It helps
communities to utilise the benefits of top-bar hives
(TBHs) and has been developing locally appropriate
top-bar hives using different types of local materials.
Top-bar Hives
Top-bar hives originated in Kenya
and Tanzania in the form of a horizontal box with
a row of wooden bars placed side by side along the
top of the box to carry the honeycombs. The only difference
between the designs is that the 'Kenya' TBH has sloping
sides, whereas the 'Tanzania' TBH has vertical sides.
In nature, bees attach comb to the
ceiling and often to walls, but rarely to the floor.
The Kenya top-bar hive takes advantage of this and
has side walls that slope inward towards the bottom
so the bees will build less comb attachment to the
walls. The bees treat the walls as a floor and attach
far less comb, making the comb easy to remove. The
Njiro Wildlife Research Centre therefore favours the
Kenya design.
One advantage of the TBH is that it
makes beekeeping more accessible to new groups of
people. While traditional beekeeping tends to be a
male-oriented activity practised by forest dwellers,
low-technology hives such as the TBH can be kept near
home or moved between crops as they flower. TBHs have
many advantages over other beehives, which include:
- Shape: The shape of the
hive allows it to be hung conveniently off the ground.
This provides protection from predators such as
toads, scorpions and ants.
- Shade: Shaded hives hung
beneath trees make the work of both bee and beekeeper
much easier due to reduced heat stress. If hives
are properly protected from intense sun, bees are
able to concentrate on collecting nectar to feed
the hive instead of water to cool it, helping to
increase yields. Perhaps even more importantly,
shading makes the bees less irritable, which helps
the beekeeper when harvesting honey.
- Low cost: The low cost per
hive benefits beekeepers with African bees. It is
normal for African bees to flee from their hives
during periods of nectar shortage. The resulting
migration often results in the loss of at least
50 per cent during the shortage. However, there
is less room for the bees to escape as only a couple
of top bars are removed at a time.
- Alternative uses: Vacant
hives can easily be put to other uses during shortage
periods, such as grain stores, feeding troughs or
wash tubs. Following the shortage period, during
the swarming season, they can be left in the apiary
as 'bait hives' to catch passing swarms or to shelter
divisions from existing hives.
- Value: Harvesting honey
from the TBH is fairly simple and does not require
the use of an extractor, so smaller, more frequent
harvests are possible. Honey can therefore be produced
earlier in the season when prices are higher, thereby
increasing the economic production of the hives.
- Demand: Wax substitutes
are not very common in developing countries and
there is a considerable market for beeswax for use
in candles for lighting. Beeswax production is relatively
high in TBHs, adding to their economic value.
There are some potential disadvantages
of TBHs to note, including:
- Less honey is produced than from
some other hives, such as the Langstroth.
- Combs are attached only to the
top bars, making it difficult to move the colonies
without breaking the combs. Care must also be used
when removing combs and inspecting them.
- The natural tendency of bees is
to increase the brood nest upwards but colonies
can only expand horizontally, which limits the expansion
of the brood nest. (This is a negligible disadvantage
in beginning a small-scale project since intensive
management is rare.)
Building a Top-Bar Hive
To construct a TBH requires minimum
carpentry skills. The hive can be built using locally
available materials - it can be constructed from scrap
or rough timber, woven from cane or reeds, formed
from cement blocks or adobe, or even made from old
discarded oil drums.
The only critical dimension in a top-bar
hive is the top bar width. This is because honeybees
like to build their combs a certain distance apart.
The key to building a TBH is therefore the precision
of constructing the top bars themselves. The top bars
must provide the same spacing of combs within the
hive as the bees would have in their natural nest.
Typically, the African bee, Apis mellifera,
needs 3.2 centimetres (cm), the European bee, also
Apis mellifera, 3.5 cm and the Asian bee, Apis
cerana, 3.0 cm.
The entrance is best built on the
end of the hive. Bees tend to build their brood nest
near the entrance, so an entrance at one end allows
a beekeeper to harvest honey from the opposite end.
Getting Started
There are several ways to get hold
of a bee colony. If a colony is transferred from the
wild into a hive, the wild colony will already have
a number of combs and these can be carefully tied
on to the top bars of the hive. Alternatively, rubbing
some beeswax inside the hive will give it an attractive
smell for bees, and a passing swarm may be encouraged
to occupy it. This will only be successful in areas
where there are still plenty of honeybee colonies.
Some basic equipment is required,
including a smoker to calm the bees, and protective
clothing, such as a hat with a veil, which needs to
be light in colour. There are more details in Bee
Fair.
Choosing a Site
A number of factors need to be considered
before a beekeeping site is selected. Choosing a site
involves balancing the needs of the bees against those
sites available. Considerations include:
- nectar and pollen sources nearby;
- water to dilute honey and cool
the hive during hot weather;
- sufficient shade;
- air circulation;
- windbreaks to provide some protection
from cold winter winds;
- protection for neighbours and livestock;
- easy access for the beekeeper;
and
- use of insecticide nearby that
might affect the bees or the quality of honey.
Dos and Don'ts
- The comb in top-bar hives is more
fragile than in standard hives because it does not
have wooden frames surrounding the comb. Care must
be taken not to turn the comb sideways or it is
likely to snap off.
- Avoid perfumes and scented lotions
when working with bees. Strong scents attract bees
and incite them to sting.
- If a colony becomes out of control
while working it, close it up as quickly as possible
and move away. If the bees give chase, create a
smoke cloud with a smoker and move slowly away through
bushes and branches. Moving through these obstacles
confuses the bees.
- Single chamber hives have volume
limitations and so it is important that they are
harvested regularly and also that excess combs,
or old and pollen-clogged combs, are removed so
that there is always room for new comb construction.
The Future
Top-bar hives offer a beekeeping technology
that is within the capabilities and economic reach
of most people, making TBHs truly Hands On. Marketing
schemes have usually worked best where the beekeepers
themselves have been fully involved, whether on a
group or individual basis. There is a lot of scope
to encourage small-scale honey vendors (who may or
may not be beekeepers) to pack and sell honey in locally
available containers in recognisable form and places,
building up a name for themselves. Training and encouragement
of many more small-scale honey packers would lead
to greater success in beekeeping.
Tanzania has had a National Beekeeping
Policy since 1998. The objectives for developing and
managing the bee and bee fodder resources since then
has been to modernise beekeeping practices by introducing
top-bar hives, to maximise production of honey and
beeswax, and to increase export earning from sales
of honey and beeswax. The overall goal of the national
beekeeping policy is to enhance the contribution of
the beekeeping sector to the sustainable development
of Tanzania and the conservation and management of
natural resources for the benefit of present and future
generations.
Information on Beekeeping
Beekeeping Training Institute
P.O.Box 62
Tabora
Tanzania |
Ministry of Natural Resources
and Tourism
Forestry and Beekeeping Division
P.0.Box 426
Dar es Salaam
Tanzania
Tel. +255 0741-328291 / 0812-769100
Email: fordev@africaonline.co.tz
Website: www.nfp.co.tz/contents/beekeeping.htm
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International Bee Research
Association
18 North Road
Cardiff CF10 3DT
United Kingdom
Tel. +44 29 20 372409
Fax +44 29 20 665522
Email: mail@ibra.org.uk
Website: http://www.ibra.org.uk/
The IBRA is a non-profit organisation
with members in almost every country in the
world. It exists to increase people's awareness
of the vital role of bees in agriculture and
the natural environment. It produces three
journals, has a library service, runs conferences
and has a directory of people interested in
beekeeping. |
Bees for Development
Troy
Monmouth NP25 4AB
United Kingdom
Tel. +44 16007 13648
Fax +44 16007 16167
Email: busy@planbee.org.uk
Website: http://www.planbee.org.uk/
Beekeeping for Development
supports beekeeping in developing countries.
The site contains a book and video store,
online journal and up to date news on sustainable
beekeeping. |
Websites
http://www.apiconsult.com/ Consultancy
based in Kenya which gives advice to Donors, UN agencies,
NGOs, community based organisations and individual
businesses on all aspects of beekeeping in the development
context.
http://www.beekeeping.com/ International
Federation of Beekeepers Associations
http://www.beehoo.com/
World Beekeeping Directory which includes regional
and country information on beekeeping and organisations
www.satweb.co.za/bees
S.M. McGladdery, supplier of beekeeping equipment
in South Africa (including Langstroth hives)
Further Reading
Books with underlined titles can be
downloaded for free from the web address provided.
Others can be ordered from the relevant postal address.
ITDG Publishing Books
Beekeeping as a Business
Richard Jones
£10.99, Commonwealth Secretariat, 2000, ISBN: 0850926319
Introduction to Beekeeping
Stephen Rere
£8.95, Vikas Publishing House, 1998, ISBN: 812590588X
Food and Agricultural Organisation
(FAO) Books
Beekeeping in
Africa by the Food and Agricultural Organisation
(www.fao.org/docrep/t0104e/T0104E00.htm)
Beekeeping in
Asia by the Food and Agricultural Organisation
(www.fao.org/docrep/x0083e/X0083E00.htm)
Earthprint Books
Pollination management of mountain
crops through beekeeping: trainers' resource book
US$15, ICIMOD, 1999, ISBN: 9291158690
This publication is part of ICIMOD's
initiative to promote wider use of honeybees to contain
declining crop productivity due to pollination failure.
This resource book is for training extension workers
and mountain farmers to use bees for pollination.
It covers several topics related to managing bees
for crop pollination.
The illustrated book provides a general
introduction to pollination; explains the reasons
why different kinds of bees are important crop pollinators;
and describes how they pollinate a crop. It describes
the limitations in using bees in traditional fixed-comb
hives for crop pollination and explains the advantages
of movable-frame hives. The role of the hive bees,
Apis cerana and Apis mellifera, rather
than wild bees as crop pollinators, and how to manage
them for pollination of crops in general are described
in detail. The management of hive bees for pollination
of particular crops is also included.
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