• Beekeeping profession in the history of the exploration of Ca Mau land
  • Early season honey eating

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

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 bee hives per day. A hives is usually used for up to 3 bee seasons (3 years). After harvesting, people replace the hives with new ones (using cajuput or custard apple trees), put them back in the same place or find some other places in the forest to put them.

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

Mr. Hien said: “During the rainy season, we take advantage of the time from May to September of the lunar calendar to clean up small beehives and old bees. We clean them once a year to prepare for the bees to return. This is a traditional job, we cannot give up. If we have 30 hives, it is estimated that after the bee season (from September of the previous year to May of the following lunar calendar), we can harvest about 150 liters of honey, sometimes more. Each liter costs about 500,000 VND.”

With many years of experience in building trusses, 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 beehives.

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 Melaleuca forest area is home to many honey bees.

Performed by Nhat Minh

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