BK: I don't know about Assam Govt's. activity now, but years ago, in the sixties, possibly with UN funds, there was a widespread and quite successful, if I might add, move to train rural folks in Assam in beekeeping. The hive boxes and extraction equipment were sold by the Khadi-Gramodyog department at subsidized rates and a lot of people got involved. Trained people went door to door, extolling the virtues of bee-keeping and recruiting new keepers. Our father and my two younger brothers too were into it. They produced quite a bit of honey. Our father, who took it quite seriously, even planted nectar producing shrubs that bloom in winter, when there was no other source of forage for the bees. Sugar was rationed and expensive to make syrup to feed bees. So the specialized plants. I was away at boarding school at the time, so did not any hands-on experience. But I learned enough to be dangerous and the desire to get into it never left me. Decades ago, after we bought our first home in St. Louis I almost got into it, but demands of time and money ( it is a fairly expensive hobby here in the USA to get started with) prevented me from taking it up. Finally took the plunge last year and started with two hives in April 2010. The first months and the year was turbulent, to say the least. I had a workers' revolution in one of my hives and I lost it. But it was early enough in the season for me to replace the bees and a queen and they overwintered successfully with two decent hives. In April this year, I split the stronger into two, as measure to prevent swarming and by June all three of my hives were producing honey. We did better than my wildest expectations and harvested a total of 327 pounds ( a tad bit more than 27 gallons or 113 litres ). My mentor, the president of our bee-club, which has over two hundred members, tells me we harvested much above average, thanks to the abundance of trees and nectar producing plants in our neighborhood.
People at Guahati can easily keep bees and raise a lot of honey. Those who have access to rooftops are particularly well suited for the undertaking. But everything productive and successful require dedication and effort. Bee-keeping requires quite a bit of it. It is NOT something you start and let nature take its course. Those who take the latter approach usually end up contributing to the demise of thousands of bees not to mention acquiring of a sense of failure. Recently, I was pleased to see that in my native village, there are still a couple of beekeepers. But there could be many more. s On Aug 26, 2011, at 7:36 AM, bbar...@aol.com wrote: > Dear Netter: > > Short of being a bee-keeper myself, I take interest at least in the news > related to bee-keeping in UK possibly because my late father was a trained > and experienced bee-keeper. Recently I came to know from an Assamese > newspaper online that Assam Government also has some activity in this field. > I hope the following news generates interest. > - bhuban > > Financial Times, August 26, 2011 > > Hives benefit the environment and employees, writes Emma Jacobs > > Hive of activity: Xavier Rolet, LSE chief executive [picture: not reproduced] > Despite its recent battering, the London Stock Exchange will next month take > on thousands of new workers. The new recruits, however, are not traders, but > worker bees, as the LSE becomes the latest business to install hives on its > premises. > Xavier Rolet, LSE chief executive, is enthusiastic about the project. > > He keeps bees at his family’s home, in a converted medieval priory in > Provence. When the LSE takes delivery of its two hives, housing 100,000 bees > in the heart of London, it will be helping to maintain a fragile and > dwindling population. > In recent years concern has grown over declining numbers of honey bees in > North America and Europe. Earlier this year, the International Bee Research > Association found that US beekeepers lost an average of 42 per cent of their > colonies during the past winter. Losses in the three previous winters ranged > from 29 per cent to 36 per cent. Beekeepers generally regard a loss of about > 15 per cent as acceptable. > According to the London Beekeepers Association, “urban bees have a wide range > of forage, as the gardens and green spaces in cities contain a rich variety > of trees and flowers. This, and the slightly milder weather, means that the > beekeeping season is longer and usually more productive than in rural areas.” > Concern over declining bee numbers has led to an increase in part-time > beekeepers, or apiarists. And companies are showing greater interest in > housing beehives. > When part-time apiarist Robin Leigh-Pemberton was governor of the Bank of > England between 1983 and 1993, the bank played host to bee colonies. Vince > Cable, the UK business secretary, is a beekeeping enthusiast who has > spearheaded campaigns to raise funding for bee research. > The LSE hopes that its employees will play a role in the bees’ upkeep; the > stock exchange will be providing beekeeping suits for staff. It will also be > using some of the honey produced by the bees to offer as corporate gifts. > Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, has two hives at the top of its > building, home to two roof gardens, overlooking the river Thames. It is part > of a project with The Golden Company, a social enterprise that runs business > skills training programmes for young people. Golden Company members will > harvest Nomura’s honey and then raise money by selling it to the bank. > For the bank, the project provides an opportunity to establish its > environmental credentials, and so “give something back to the city”, says > Dominic Cashman, the managing director, chief administrative office, Emea. > Martin Farrington, the head of IT and digital services at The Future > Laboratory, a market research consultancy, was funded by his company to > attend a beekeeping course. “It’s an extra perk, like gym membership. I can’t > wait to come to work now, it provides a different incentive to money.” > Dave Geer, managing director of Warren Evans, a bed retailer, acquired two > hives for the back of the company’s workshop in Walthamstow, north-east > London. “I wanted something for the warehouse [employees] to interest them > other than work. I want to have things that are a bit fun and not just about > work,” he says. > Mr Geer says beekeeping is a good way to combat stress. “It’s relaxing. You > have to move slowly and think carefully and be absorbed in what’s going on in > order not to disturb the bees. Quite a few people have told me they find it > absorbing and interesting.” > The company has consulted staff on the project: “There are a couple of people > who’ve been stung badly as children and don’t want to get involved.” That > said, a number of employees who used to lurk at the back when the bee hives > were opened have become intrigued and since moved to the front, he says. > “It gives people something to talk about. We won’t sell any beds on the back > of the beehive. Though I did have a planning officer round [to approve an > extension] who took quite an interest in the bees – maybe our hive helped." > > > > > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > assam@assamnet.org > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
