W.Edrich, Univ.

Erlangen Germany wolfgang@edrich

In search of an appropriate technology with African honey bees for rural poor;
Secure village beekeeping with fixed-comb bell-hives.

Beeking is good agriculture; no ownership of land required, (usually) no competing

with other land use. And it provides income during hard times.
The emphasis is to win newcomers to beekeeping with a technology which is based
on the particular biology of the African bee and of course allows for the interest of
the people.
Traditional beekeeping “systems” (B.Svensson 1989) were appropriate for rural poor.
Traditions are kept in families, and their liking is “let alone management”
beeking. For hives the beekeeper still prefer cylindrical drums of grass, of
wicker work, earthenware or hollowed out tree trunks, best for no costs. He
knows his job and bees come on own account to live in these hives.
In the negative saldo is: mature trees have become rare in many areas, honey
output is low and is spoilt by inpurities and has smoky taste, and often colonies
perrish after cropping. As a side effect of deforestation, hanging and foraging
sites for bees move further away from villages. Added to this list is that
National Park’s policy is to keep beekeeping out of forests.
African bees “like” a secure shelter in a cavity sufficiently above the ground with
entrance at the top.They arrange combs the way that insect pests can be
controled easily. Since colony extinction is high, their strategy for survival is to
defend vigorously, send out many swarms per year (while storing only little),
and be flexible, for instance abscond, when life is threatened, or just migrate.
We must help but realistically: in small steps on accustomed lines. (Furthering
beekeepers like official institutes propagate, by “throwing them into
(provided) TBH”s is no solution. These are too expensive and only a few
rural beekeepers can handle them.)
There is a point in improving quality and hygene with hive products, having
women participate, and setting up a business chains. This can occur on
group (help) level and along cooperative lines and with small loans so to
bring micro-business to villages.
My personal suggestions pivot on winning newcomers and having a new look at the
biology of bees..
Beeing a scientist I cannot tell you much which is new to you, as a
beekeeper, I can only remind you:
Bees cannot see in red light, they are very perceptive in seing movements,
when disturbed they crawl up, young bees retreat into the dark,
guards/soldiers learn the quickest way to the entrance towards light, bees
hear with their legs the vibrations, concushions. A missing queen is noticed
within 10 minutes, in a foreign surrounding earlier. The response to novelty
is scent fanning, it is a friendly signal; the signal for attack is a left stinger
with some alarm substance. Foreign smells confound bees. Bees have a
natural rhythm, calm down and sleep after midnight. They remember sweet
offers, also disturbances to the nearest 5 minutes for days. Smoke releases
filling their crop and this stops stinging..
The main crux of African bees is their fierceness: (G.Mammo 1976) “the slightest
provocation is tantamount to a declaration of war”, “some.. are unforgivably
fierce” N.B. much fierceness is due to the techniques empoyed in handling.
Therefore attention to safety is the priority and here the biology comes in:
1 keep small colonies for fewer soldiers (though less honey but more often)
2 best have colonies under observation (near home), protect from ants, wasps;
3 keep colonies friendly with constant exposure to objects fluttering and
moving, “keep them in good spirit” with bushel of straw moving in the wind.
4 crop the hives in the night with a red light, or at dawn, not during rain
and after long pauses of flight.
5 avoid shaking, procede gently, not hurting nor killing bees, exchange their
honey tops. And, when working on the main nest do it from below;
smoke rises and drives bees up inside and out of the way.
6 but smoke sparcely;
7 do not interfere with brood combs in main nest.
8 time on open hive should be short although the job must not be rushed.
9 if necessary secure hive with a padlock..

For larger work on large colonies choose a remote site for them. With the old
drumming method, -trapping activated bees into a separate box- bees can be
”tamed”. When released after some time ”… it is very rare indeed that bees sting;
or ever think about it, when dealt with in this manner” , Pettigrew 1875, “ Bees get
domesticated when treated this way” A.I&E.R.Root 1905, but professional help is
advisable
When colonies kept under shelter a special escape curtain can be used to get rid for
a while of worst defenders.

So we set out to improve traditional sustainable beekeeping with fixed combs. The
methods must conform with the above precautions and the output of honey
must compete with loghive beekeeping, the only way that this is accepted.
(Experts familiar with the tropical situation made no secrete of fixed-comb
home beekeeping being better than movable-comb-technology for Africa.
( F.G.Smith, p.80, 1960. Koeniger, 1976,95. Paterson, 1985,2006.
B.&C.Clauss, 1992. Bradbear, 1995)

Our hives we call “Bell Hives” as they are operated from below: #1 is a
small 18 liter hive with an extra honey container at the top and, #2: a larger
hive and reminiscent of a log hive. (This one is cylindical, hanging
horizontal and thus reminiscent of what locals are used to.) Both are hung
invertedly. (The second is modeled after a hive used by an African
beekeeper who attracted many swarms of bees with it and had bumper
harvests). Both use inverted plastic household containers as skeleton then
mantled by papyrus reed and with an extra roof (hackle) of banana leaves.
The containers open downwards. (Casting hives in light-concrete is an
alternative which is currently tested with the Engeneering Dept.of the Ohm
University Nürnberg, Germany.) In the past 10 months #1 hives were
occupied /colonized by bee swarms as frequently as TBHs (30 to 50 %
depending on local population of bees and season).
The current bee project is started 10 month ago and embedded in a health
program for 21 of the poorest villages in Karatu district in northern Tanzania.
The program relys on donations by two US American health centres:
ST JOSEPHS BALTIMORE, MARILAND AND MERCY DURANGO,COLORADO.
The organisations provided money for self-manufacturing of about 50 hives for
beekeepers including women. All attended a 2-day training workshop held at
four different localities in the Ngorongoro region (estimated cash of
 farmers here : 100 $ per year and family)
I experienced large enthousiasm among attenders, but at the same time
shyness with the new designs and new materials; Since acceptance and
participation is paramount, the white man must proof that the approach gives
advantages over the use of log hive (other hives are out of the question).
While the materials for the first self made bell-hives were provided (5$ for
each), later the return for delivered honey will include an 8 $ voucher for a
bell-hive made by two craftsmen who started building these light but robust
hives.
Materials for hive-selfmaking with standard tools, like cement, wires, metal
roofing are available on village markets,.
The other aim of the project is of course marketing of a special brand of honey. This is
started now as here is demand for clear, hygenically packeted honey from
touristic centres around the National Parks.
A demonstration bee yard with a couple of large colonies under a shelter is
planned next. An important condition is its safety to reach it and keeping
burglers out. The same applies to a future bee centre for processing and
botteling, for quality tests, for teaching and research. This could be a centre
for extension work too. Help with bee pests and deseases is needed also.

As I told you in the beginning, I wanted to remind you of the biology of bees and
see, but you realize not much is new: OK working from underneath is forgotten,
but removable honey chambers: (Paterson 2006), makeshift materials like buckets,
tires (Paterson 2006, Murless 1994, pers.comm.2005, Bajiruk pers.comm. 2009 and
others) all was discussed before. But did it have effect?
Now closing this presentation, I am very happy about a Dutch beekeepers initiative
“Tanzania Bee One” which enthousiastically started with practical supports for my
sustainable bee activities, not only for those in Karatu but also in other regions of
Tanzania, Kenya and Camaroon..

For the discussion I prepared a Table comparing 4 different ways of keeping African bees
Literatur

Bradbear, N.: Beekeeping development and conservation. Rio 1989

Clauss, B.: Observations on various rural beekeeping techniques and developments in
several african countries. Proc 4 int. Conf. Apic. Trop. Climates, Cairo 19888
Koeniger, N.: Report on the visit of Malawi German beekeeping development project and
workshop on the development of low cost hive 1976
Mammo, G.: Practical aspects of bee management in Ethopia. Apiculture in Tropical
Climates. 1976
Paterson, P.D.: Appropriate technology for bee hives in tropical Africa. Proc. 3 int. Conf.
Apic.trop. Climates, Nairobi 1984
Paterson, P.D.: Multi-chamber top bar hives. Proc. 4 int. Conf.Apic. trop. Climates,
Nairobi. 1989
Paterson, P.D.: Beekeeping; The tropical agriculturalist. Macmillan Publishers Ltd.2006
Pettigrew, A.: Handy book of bees. Sec.ed. 1875, William Blackwood & Sons. Edinburgh and
London
Smith, F.G.: Beekeeping in the tropics. Longmans, Green and Co.Ltd 1960
Svensson, B.: In search for appropriate beekeeping technology. Proc. 4 int. Conf. Apic.
Tropical Climates, Cairo, 1988