Villagers learn sweet job of making honey

VILLAGERS in Markham, Morobe, are being trained to use local bees to produce honey.
PNG Biomass Company’s native bee programme, Switpela Bi Hani, engaged meliponist Matthew Middleton from Australia to train women from Umi and Chivasing villages to realise the value of native bees.
Switpela Bi Hani was launched this year to create awareness on the value of native bees in the Markham Valley.
Middleton explained the importance of bees in their gardens and exploring potential business opportunities in bee-keeping and honey production. At Umi village, 40 women from a agriculture group were shown hives filled with native bees.
“We left clear descriptions, photos, and posters of native bees with the women and ask them to keep their eyes open and think like a bee. They need to identify native beehives in the wild around their homes and gardens but leave them alone for now. In our next visit, we will teach them how to transfer those bees into homemade boxes and hives,” Middleton said.