World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009 - (Page 24)

Rigoberto Bautista demonstrates the beekeeping process at center and, at left, displays old tools used in the work. Santos takes notes on Fredesvinda Sorto’s progress in training at right. interaction with the insects is one of his favorite parts of the beekeeping business, bautista says. once there, he checks on the whole activity of the hives. from bautista’s home in central Santiago de Puringla, it takes about 20 minutes to reach his hives by truck. once he is near the hives, he puts on his bee suit—canvas coveralls, long gloves and a hat with netting around the face—and “there is a really big market for [the honey]. for everything i produce, people actually want more. people want to get their hands on more honey.” —Rigo Bautista, beekeeper beekeepers like bautista who sell to the co-op take the frames filled with honey to their homes. new frames are inserted in their place so the bees have a new place to live, work and produce honey. once back at their homes, keepers remove the closed cells with a knife from both sides of the frame. The combs are then placed in a centrifuge and manually cranked until the honey is extracted. if the frames are taken out too soon, the honey can be damaged. Producers then either take their honey to the cooperative, or the co-op organizes a pickup for delivery to the processing plant. The plant has two full-time employees who process the honey. at the plant the honey is weighed and the humidity levels and sugar concentration checked, which determine how the honey tastes. The producers are paid 50 lempiras per kilogram—or about $1.20 for every pound—of honey they deliver. F StepS toward Self-Sufficiency walks the 150 feet off the road through a cornfield to where he keeps his hives. Though bautista says his bees are familiar with him, he uses the smoke as a necessary precaution, particularly when a reporter and photographer accompany him. The bees, intent on protecting their hives from the strangers, leave multiple sting marks on their crisp white suits and yellow gloves. bautista looks for the queen and checks the stages of life of the new bees and the process of honey production. The top hive box is where nectar is turned into honey, while the bottom hive box is where bees reproduce. during the harvesting season, the bees responsible for reproducing are further separated from those making honey. honey is harvested when 75 percent of the cells are closed, bautista says. but the process is a delicate one. ive years after becoming a heifer beneficiary, bautista is a full-fledged entrepreneur. not only does he sell his honey and pollen to the co-op, bautista says that his honey is in high demand locally. “Selling locally to people here is more lucrative,” bautista says. “There is a really big market for [the honey]. for everything i produce, people actually want more. People want to get their hands on more honey.” bautista says that he and his wife work together to meet that demand, as they both sell and market the honey. in the meantime, they both are enjoying the proceeds. Though selling to neighbors is a more informal exchange of his product, it continues to be profitable. while bautista and Santos are both very involved with Xiomara Rivera and her children, Edin Eliazar, Denia Johana, Melvin Ariel and Rony Josue are beneficiaries of the beehive project. www.h ei f er .o r g 24 j a n uar y / feb ruar y 2 0 0 9 | world ark http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009

World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked and Answered Microfinance: A Lot for a Little Business is Buzzing in Honduras The World Grows Smaller Mixed Media Heifer Spirit Heifer Bulletin Calendar First Person

World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009

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