Guanacaste
Beekeepers Show Their Products
(InfoWebPress) – Beekeepers from Nicoya,
Hojancha, Jicaral and neighboring towns
shared their knowledge and helped promote
alternative forms of production and
commercialization of comb products during
the Sixth National University (UNA) Expo
“Projects Tied to Development,” which was
held June 11 at UNA’s Nicoya campus.
Organized by the Office of Technology
Transfer and External Linkages and the
Center for Tropical Apiculture Research (CINAT),
the event is the perfect opportunity for
consumers to link up directly with producers
to learn more about their activities
regarding honey production and hive
management.
UNA Expo also allowed consumers to learn
more about the environmental and
agricultural importance of bees and the
benefits of honey for human health.
The fair offered a great variety of products
made from honey by Guanacaste producers,
such as traditional honey, creamed honey,
lip balm, skin lotions, royal jelly and comb
honey at very affordable prices.
The activity also included conferences about
various bee-production topics: The Varroa
destructor mite: Impact on apiculture,
Perspective on apiculture in a time of
crisis, The beekeeping business: New vision,
and Apicultural entrepreneurship, among
others.
Several groups have been working in
Guanacaste to turn beekeeping into a
sustainable economic development
opportunity. Since 2007, the Fundacion Mujer
has been working with women in Liberia who
produce honey — emphasizing environmentally
friendly production techniques that led to
clean harvest products, which are free of
agrochemicals and harmless to human health.
Meanwhile, in the community of Agua Fria,
another group of women has been producing
and commercializing honey thanks to
financial and technical assistance, plus
organizational support.
The group’s goal is to become the first
business generating employment and
development options in Agua Fria through the
production and commercialization of various
products, improving the quality of life of
its members and families, also boosting
gender equality. The group also wants to
make its town, located in the Rincon de la
Vieja Volcano region, known around the
country.
To meet its goal, the Agua Fria beekeepers
group said it will require continued
training, particularly in issues related to
diversification of honey-derived products
and their uses for cosmetics and health
products. Regarding technical assistance,
the group needs to set up pollen traps and
wax processors. Later on, the enterprise
would like to establish an agritourism
project, taking advantage of the Rincon de
la Vieja Volcano attractions. |
