Monitoring of technified boxes of native bees

Published On: 04/12/20241.9 min read

In the area of Tingo Maria, Envol Vert has been working on the economic alternative of honey and derivatives from native stingless bees (Tetragonisca angustula, or meliponas) for the last 2 years. In 2022, the team undertook a diagnosis to identify with farmers what would be the most appropriate economic alternative for them. Thanks to this, it was decided to work mainly with the native bees tetragonisca angustula for their medicinal honey and their relatively strong presence in the population centres where the NGO intervenes. From there, in 2023, several trainings and internships were given to the participants so that they could be trained on the subject of native bees; from their life cycle to the management of their hive. This same year, 8 communal technified boxes were distributed to the working groups of Muyuna de Anda, José Carlos Mariategui, Arabe, Santo Domingo de Anda, and Pueblo Nuevo.

This preliminary process allowed the Envol Vert team to realise how interested each participant was in this alternative. Thus, in April 2024, 60 technified boxes were distributed among the most committed participants and the Botanical Garden of the National Agrarian University of La Selva, a partner of the NGO.

The team is currently monitoring the boxes to verify the presence of bees. Although Envol Vert has a group work methodology, at this stage, a more personalised work is carried out with visits to the plots of each farmer, and these actions are fundamental to ensure the progress of each project participant. These field trips are an opportunity to advise participants on the location, handling and maintenance of their traps and boxes.

Some progress can already be seen at this stage of the project:

In José Carlos Mariategui and Santo Domingo de Anda, the 3 communal boxes have a good bee population and their honey is ready to be harvested with the participants during an internal internship that will take place in October.
In several villages, the farmers made their first transfers from endangered hives to their technified boxes.
The farmers are planting melliferous species on their plots to provide the best conditions for their bees, creating a virtuous cycle of fauna and flora conservation.
The most motivated participants replicate more technified boxes with the aim of making this activity an economic alternative for their families.

In the area of Tingo Maria, Envol Vert has been working on the economic alternative of honey and derivatives from native stingless bees (Tetragonisca angustula, or meliponas) for the last 2 years. In 2022, the team undertook a diagnosis to identify with farmers what would be the most appropriate economic alternative for them. Thanks to this, it was decided to work mainly with the native bees tetragonisca angustula for their medicinal honey and their relatively strong presence in the population centres where the NGO intervenes. From there, in 2023, several trainings and internships were given to the participants so that they could be trained on the subject of native bees; from their life cycle to the management of their hive. This same year, 8 communal technified boxes were distributed to the working groups of Muyuna de Anda, José Carlos Mariategui, Arabe, Santo Domingo de Anda, and Pueblo Nuevo.

This preliminary process allowed the Envol Vert team to realise how interested each participant was in this alternative. Thus, in April 2024, 60 technified boxes were distributed among the most committed participants and the Botanical Garden of the National Agrarian University of La Selva, a partner of the NGO.

The team is currently monitoring the boxes to verify the presence of bees. Although Envol Vert has a group work methodology, at this stage, a more personalised work is carried out with visits to the plots of each farmer, and these actions are fundamental to ensure the progress of each project participant. These field trips are an opportunity to advise participants on the location, handling and maintenance of their traps and boxes.

Some progress can already be seen at this stage of the project:

In José Carlos Mariategui and Santo Domingo de Anda, the 3 communal boxes have a good bee population and their honey is ready to be harvested with the participants during an internal internship that will take place in October.
In several villages, the farmers made their first transfers from endangered hives to their technified boxes.
The farmers are planting melliferous species on their plots to provide the best conditions for their bees, creating a virtuous cycle of fauna and flora conservation.
The most motivated participants replicate more technified boxes with the aim of making this activity an economic alternative for their families.