As we were roaming around this place from one waterfall to another, on one side of the road we saw some blue boxes lined up in what seemed like uncultivated land. We stopped to find out what they were. Right there on the road, a vendor was selling honey in small plastic bottles. When asked where does he get the nectar from, he pointed to the same blue boxes. With some interpretation help, we asked him to show us the boxes which are essentially the Honey-making boxes at the valley.
Honey Making at Araku Valley
Curious, we then requested one of the farmers there to show us these boxes, if it is safe, and also explain a bit about the concept. Fortunately, he was more than happy to show the details and let us capture a few images.
Blue Colored Honey Boxes
These boxes are mini biofactories. There are wooden frames stacked up inside the boxes and the honey bees are attracted to them. Over a period of time, the frames are filled with nectar and bee wax. These boxes are kept covered from the top unless the beekeeper has to examine or take out the frames. There is a small hole at the bottom of the box that is meant for the bees to use for entering and exiting the box.
I was scared when the beekeeper just took out a wooden frame from the box. And held it with his bare hands to show it to us. But he was absolutely cool about it. He told us that each box can yield 5-7 kgs of honey in a month’s time.
Profitable Business
It is a pretty profitable business, though a small-scale one. I thought it could be a good employment generation opportunity for people in this area. As flowers are in abundance making it a viable place for the nectar. The boxes are portable so they can be shifted to various places and need not occupy any prime cultivable land. The labor required is also not high. Though some skills may need to be developed to handle the bees.
We purchased a bottle of the nectar that was on sale. Said thank you to the local vendor. I was happy to learn about another small business that can be done in a very eco-friendly way without much investment. This is how each travel enriches me with unexpected experiences.
Recommend you to read the following places to visit in Araku Valley and on the Vizag tour.
HI
Good Post.
Present Days honey making Is a Business Of Profit,And Many Peoples are involved in it.
Nice Pics and my first ever experience of honey making
Great post,i like your post.
Great job…. first time i have seen such picture to making of honey. Thank you
Thank you, Vikas. Glad you enjoyed the post on honey making.
So beautiful picture of the process of making honey.
its so beautiful and to see this process
Nice pictures and your process to make honey is very clever. Thank You for sharing such a great blog.