High income from the 'natural' stingless bee farming model

Taking advantage of the rich vegetation of the semi-mountainous area in the border region of An Giang, Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh (born in 1990, residing in Thoi Son ward, An Giang province) has successfully developed a stingless bee farming model, bringing in high income. Notably, this model won the first prize at the "An Giang Province's 9th Creative Startup Ideas Contest - 2025", opening a new direction for poor people around the That Son range of An Giang province.

From the initial 18 bee colonies, after 3 years, Mr. Thanh has developed more than 500 stingless bee colonies in a breeding area of ​​more than 2,000 m2.

Starting a business from native bees

Born and raised in the Seven Mountains region of An Giang , Nguyen Trung Thanh has been familiar with stingless bees (belonging to the Meliponini tribe) since childhood - a native stingless wild bee species that grows and produces honey completely naturally all year round.

Mr. Thanh said that stingless bees are also known by many different names such as stingless bees, stingless bees, etc. This species of bee is smaller than honey bees and is gentle, not dangerous to humans, especially children because the bees do not have stingers. In particular, stingless bees love to suck nectar and pollen from herbal plants, are easy to raise and do not leave their nests to go elsewhere, etc. If you combine raising stingless bees in herbal gardens, you will increase plant productivity thanks to bee pollination and obtain high-quality honey. From there, you will form a green, sustainable agricultural model with higher economic value.

Realizing that stingless bees are different from other honey bee breeds commonly available on the market and have the potential to be developed into a commercial product, Mr. Thanh decided to invest in experimental breeding.

On average, a stingless bee nest produces honey twice a year, yielding about 1 liter of honey.

To make nests for stingless bees, Mr. Thanh built small pine boxes divided into three floors for bees to breed, store bee combs, honey and bee pollen, and drilled a small hole in the bottom floor with a flexible plastic tube through the wall of the house for bees to enter and exit. From the time the queen stingless bee lays eggs until it develops into an adult bee, it takes about 50 days. Each hive can multiply once a month, each colony will "elect" a new queen bee and reproduce very quickly, producing honey after 3 - 6 months. From the 18 initial bee colonies, after three years, more than 500 stingless bee colonies have developed in an area of ​​more than 2,000 m2. Mr. Thanh established "Mekong Bee Herbal Beekeeping Company Limited", located in Thoi Thuan Hamlet, Thoi Son Ward, An Giang Province.

Mr. Thanh shared that his beekeeping model was built on the principle of "following nature", without chemical intervention, without forcing bees to collect honey, allowing bees to develop in a natural cycle. In addition, the bee's living environment is created to be almost natural, with shade, gentle breeze and medicinal plants that bloom all year round, helping bees live healthily and produce honey rich in biological active ingredients.

The honeycomb is made from natural wood, has a multi-compartment structure, simulating a nest in a hollow tree trunk, ensuring durability, waterproofing and suitability to the habits of stingless bees.

On average, a stingless bee hive produces about 1 liter of honey twice a year. When it is time to harvest, the honey is collected using a gentle layering technique, which helps to preserve the hive structure and does not cause stress to the bees. Thanks to this, stingless bee honey is rich in medicinal properties, is safe, and has a biological value many times higher than regular honey, so many people are looking to buy it.

With the selling price ranging from 2 - 2.5 million VND/liter of honey and 2 - 2.5 million VND/seed nest, after deducting expenses, Mr. Thanh earns a profit of nearly 100 million VND/year. The products are consumed locally, in Eastern and Western medicine pharmacies, cosmetic manufacturing companies and through e-commerce channels and social networks.

Get rich with people

The project of raising and exploiting honeybees in an orchard combined with growing medicinal herbs by Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh (Thoi Son ward) won first prize in the "An Giang Province Creative Startup Ideas" contest in 2025.

Recently (September 27, 2025), the model "Raising and exploiting honey in fruit gardens combined with growing medicinal herbs" by Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh has excellently won the First Prize in the "9th An Giang Province Startup Ideas Contest 2025".

Ms. Truong Thanh Thuy, Director of the Youth Startup Support Center of An Giang province, assessed that the model of "Raising and exploiting stingless bee honey in fruit gardens combined with growing medicinal herbs" of Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh is very suitable for the green economic orientation, circular economy and the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program of An Giang province.

In addition, the stingless bee farming model does not require much investment and human resources, and is highly feasible. Young people or households in many different localities in the province can apply this model to increase income and develop the economy. In the future, stingless bee honey is likely to become a specialty of the Bay Nui An Giang region, participating in the value chain of high-quality agricultural and medicinal products. More importantly, the model contributes to building a sustainable new countryside, developing agriculture associated with eco-tourism and taking care of community health.

Sharing about his plans for the near future, Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh said that he is building a plan to coordinate with local authorities to implement a poverty alleviation project in Thoi Son ward, An Giang province.

Accordingly, Mr. Thanh will provide beekeeping techniques to 25 poor households in Thoi Son ward, each with 10 beehives. At the same time, he will transfer beekeeping techniques, support people in separating beehives and guarantee the output of products. The goal is to help 25 poor households in Thoi Son ward escape poverty. After that, the model will be expanded to other localities in the province.

Delegates visited and enjoyed Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh's honey products at the product promotion booth.

In particular, honey is being consumed strongly in the market, so farmers do not have to worry about output. With this potential, Mr. Thanh believes that the model will bring stable income to people, contributing to sustainable poverty reduction.

According to Mr. Thanh's experience, the model of raising stingless bees combined with developing medicinal plant gardens not only provides a stable and abundant source of honey but also contributes to increasing the content of biological active ingredients in stingless bee honey, especially anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, opening up the potential for wide application in medicine and public health care.

In the coming time, Mr. Thanh plans to develop products to meet 4-star OCOP standards, and at the same time build a geographical indication for Bay Nui - An Giang stingless bee honey. At the same time, Mr. Thanh will actively participate in trade promotion fairs, selling stingless bee products on e-commerce platforms to widely introduce them to consumers.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/thu-nhap-cao-tu-mo-hinh-nuoi-ong-du-thuan-thien-20251018114347683.htm