Industrious and indispensable, bees are nature\u2019s \u201cessential workers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their pollination powers entire ecosystems and food systems \u2014 with more than 75 percent<\/a> of the world\u2019s flowering plants and a third<\/a> of all crops relying on bees and other pollinators to reproduce.<\/p>\n Yet bees are declining at alarming rates. Mass die-offs<\/a> have been linked to pesticides<\/a>, Around the world, women beekeepers are helping to protect bees by sharing their knowledge and traditions. The bees, in turn, provide honey \u2014 an important source of food and income, which in many cases generates economic independence and autonomy This International Women\u2019s Day, Conservation News highlights the work of three beekeepers who live in very different geographies, but are united in their passion for the pollinators.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve felt connected to bees ever since I can remember.\u201d – Jiyunt Uyunkar<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n As a child, Jiyunt Uyunkar suffered from bouts of bronchitis that left her gasping for air. Antibiotics didn\u2019t seem to help, but honey eased her symptoms. Specifically, the medicinal honey from stingless Melipona bees, which her father gathered Indigenous peoples in the Amazon have used Melipona honey for countless generations to treat colds, heal wounds, and ward off microbial and fungal infections. During the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for the honey surged in Indigenous communities like Uyunkar\u2019s, \u201cThe bees were so important to us and many others during the pandemic,\u201d says Uyunkar, 36, a member of the Achuar Nation. \u201cWe have much to thank them for.\u201d<\/p>\n But despite their healing honey, Melipona bees across the Amazon are under threat<\/a> from deforestation, pesticides and climate change. Uyunkar is on a mission With support from Conservation International\u2019s Amazonia Indigenous Women\u2019s Fellowship<\/a> \u2014 which provides funding for women leading conservation in their territories \u2014 she is sharing her beekeeping experience with women from her own community and the In some cases Melipona honey has been foraged by cutting down trees to extract wild nests, which were often destroyed in the process. Uyunkar is teaching women to raise stingless bees and multiply their colonies sustainably in wooden boxes that allow \u201cThe idea is to help the bees repopulate, so they can help us,\u201d she says. \u201cWe support each other mutually.\u201d<\/p>\n Caring for the vital pollinators \u201cgives back to nature,\u201d Uyunkar says, as the Meliponas help fertilize the Amazon\u2019s native flora. Moreover, selling honey and related products, like wax candles, soap and candy, helps women generate income \u201cMy aim is to strengthen traditional knowledge and create economies within our communities,\u201d she says. \u201cWe can use what nature gives us; we don\u2019t need to rely on what is brought from the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Uyunkar sees beekeeping and its related enterprises as a steppingstone to more autonomy for her community \u2014\u00a0and for women, who have traditionally been excluded from leadership roles.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI want women to know their work and opinions are valid,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to wait for the men to speak for us or dream for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI talk with the bees. The bees can tell if you come with pure intent.\u201d – Menani Kaitoga<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Beekeeping was not Menani Kaitoga\u2019s passion; it was her husbands. But when he passed unexpectedly in 2019, she had to make a decision to keep the family farm alive.<\/p>\n \u201cAt one point I thought of giving up, but I looked around and saw my children,\u201d she says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t let my husband\u2019s death knock me down. I knew I had to step up for my family.\u201d<\/p>\n With eight children to care for, some still in grade school, she took the reins of the farm \u2014 approximately 23 hectares (56 acres) of sugarcane, root crops and vegetables, plus several tilapia ponds.<\/p>\n And, of course, the bees.<\/p>\n Kaitoga\u2019s husband, Moce Liliwalu, had learned to keep bees as part of a program from Conservation International and the government of Fiji that helps farmers create sustainable sources of income and improve crop production. Liliwalu cared for the Now, the bees are Kaitoga\u2019s pursuit. And, among all the chores and expenses required to keep the farm going, she\u2019s grateful that these industrious pollinators mostly take care of themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s sweet and easy money,\u201d Kaitoga, 53, says.<\/p>\n \u201cWith sugarcane, you have to till the land, and harvest the cane and hire trucks to go to the mill,\u201d she adds. \u201cBut with beekeeping, nature does most of the work and the honey sells at a very good rate.\u201d<\/p>\n Fiji\u2019s western province of Ra is known for producing high quality honey, but it\u2019s an industry dominated by men. Kaitoga is one of the area\u2019s few female beekeepers and, with six hives, she has the largest yield \u2014 producing about Income from the honey helped pay for her kids\u2019 education. Now, her two eldest sons are helping to run the farm. Motivated by her plentiful honey harvests, Kaitoga is working with them to grow the family\u2019s bee business.<\/p>\n \u201cMy husband always wanted to get to 20 hives, that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re going to continue what he started. It\u2019s not a dream, it\u2019s a goal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe bees are part of my family now. I understand them, and they take care of us.\u201d – Patricia Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Growing up in a dairy community on Colombia\u2019s high Andean grasslands, Patricia Rodr\u00edguez saw few opportunities for herself. So, she set out to change them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was younger, there was a lot of machismo,\u201d she says. \u201cAll the women would cook for their husbands, and milk the cows and take care of the farms \u2014 but they were never paid for their labor. They were completely dependent \u201cI wanted something different, so we wouldn\u2019t live the same experiences as our mothers,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez adds. \u201cI wanted a better quality of life for women and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2000, she started an organization to train local women entrepreneurs to produce cheese, yogurt and other dairy products. Today, the group includes nearly 50 women, who sell their goods in nearby markets. They support their families \u2014 and Eager to diversify their income and production, Rodr\u00edguez and other women in the Chingaza P\u00e1ramo began beekeeping thanks to a Conservation International project that helps Colombia\u2019s highland communities adapt to climate change<\/a> by promoting sustainable livelihoods. She now feels a kinship with the matriarchal society of bees. \u201cIt\u2019s hard work, but I just fell in love with them,\u201d she says. \u201cThe beehives remind me of our women\u2019s group: Every woman plays an important role in our collective success. We\u2019re smart and we work hard, just like Rodr\u00edguez uses honey and pollen from her 10 hives to sweeten and fortify her yogurt. And selling her honey has helped compensate for a drop in milk production as a recent drought, spurred by climate change and this year\u2019s El Nino weather Importantly, she says, by fertilizing the p\u00e1ramo\u2019s flowering plants and shrubs, the bees are helping to protect this delicate ecosystem<\/a>. The high-altitude wetlands not only support farming communities like her own, they also filter drinking water for millions \u201cIn the past three years, I\u2019ve seen how our bees are improving the pastures \u2014 they grow more quickly,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bees are part of my family now,\u201d she adds. \u201cI understand them, and they take care of us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n parasitic mites<\/a> and shrinking habitats. Extreme heat fueled by
\n climate change<\/a> is further disrupting colonies and their foraging patterns<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n for women in places where there are few other opportunities.<\/p>\nJiyunt Uyunkar, Ecuador<\/h3>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_57321084.png?sfvrsn=aa40dbd3_5?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
\u00a9\u00a0Conservation International\/photo
\n by Sebastian Espin<\/h6>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_38209969.jpg?sfvrsn=5b235558_3?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
\u00a9\u00a0Conservation International\/photo
\n by Luis Hernandez<\/h6>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_81589120.jpg?sfvrsn=623703d8_3?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
\u00a9\u00a0Conservation International\/photo
\n by Luis Hernandez<\/h6>\n
\n from hollow trees in the rainforest surrounding her village.<\/p>\n
\n where it was sought as an alternative remedy for upper respiratory ailments.<\/p>\n
\n to protect them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n network of Indigenous fellows.<\/p>\n
\n easy access to the honey.<\/p>\n
\n \u2014 which can provide greater financial independence.<\/p>\nMenani Kaitoga, Fiji<\/h3>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_64090792-cropped.jpg?sfvrsn=f306d32b_5?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
\u00a9\u00a0Conservation International\/photo
\n by Sera Nagusuca<\/h6>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_42369196-cropped.jpg?sfvrsn=885c510e_5?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
\u00a9\u00a0Conservation International\/photo
\n by Sera Nagusuca<\/h6>\n
\n bees diligently \u2014 cutting weeds and vines away from their hives, feeding them brown sugar twice a month, and noting their progress in his farm journal.<\/p>\n
\n 240 kilograms (530 pounds) of honey each year, which she sells to a wholesaler who comes right to her door.<\/p>\nPatricia Rodr\u00edguez, Colombia\u00a0<\/h3>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_67676639.jpg?sfvrsn=e3130c2c_5?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
\u00a9\u00a0Conservation International<\/h6>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_52308583.jpg?sfvrsn=245ae263_5?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
\u00a9\u00a0Conservation International\/photo by Julian Sotelo<\/h6>\n
\n on what the men would give them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n an additional 200 farmers who supply their milk.<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n bees in a hive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n cycle, withered her dairy cows\u2019 once-lush pastures.<\/p>\n
\n of Colombians in large cities like Bogot\u00e1.<\/p>\n