PROPOSED BEEKEEPING SHORT-COURSE TRAINING SCHEDULE AND LESSON PLANS MOGNORI, NORTHERN REGION, GHANA February/March, 2012

Transcription

1 PROPOSED BEEKEEPING SHORT-COURSE TRAINING SCHEDULE AND LESSON PLANS MOGNORI, NORTHERN REGION, GHANA February/March, 2012 Note: in addition to the following formal sessions the participants will have the opportunity to view a number of videos during breaks and non-programmed time including The Kenya Top-Bar Hive (KTBH) (University of Guelph), The African Bee (USDA) and some home videos of KTBH management techniques. These videos will assist in familiarizing clients with the biology of honeybees and techniques of management. DAY 1, 10:00 AM TO 12 NOON INTRODUCTION: BEEKEEPING HISTORY Working with African bees can be dangerous. It is important that participants understand that bee-work spans a continuum of skills level and that to become a beekeeper requires commitment and practice. An introduction to bee-working practices typical of various African cultures should assist trainees to understand the spectrum of beeculture across the globe and how they can fit in. * explain what to look for to have confidence in the training program. * indicate generally how far down the road of beekeeping they want to go. 30 minutes A brief lecture will be given to introduce the history of beekeeping in Africa, the program schedule, objectives and format and the findings of field visits to group apiaries. flip chart, pens Bee-culture has played an important role in the culture and economy of Western Africa. Honey has traditionally been an important food item and has documented efficacy for both internal and external medical applications. Bee products have been harvested from wild nests and a variety of traditional hives in Africa for millennia. Wax has been used in traditional African crafts such as batik dyeing and lost-wax metal casting.

2 2 of 20 CONSTRUCTING AND HANGING HIVES The discovery of the bee-space made possible the movable comb hive. Moveable comb hives, in turn, make hive management much more practical and productive. Adding handles and hanging the Kenya Top Bar Hive (KTBH) can provide significant advantages in the field-- principally protection from the entry of pests (especially ants) into hives, and overthrow of hives by animal rubbing and wind. * construct and hang a KTBH. * explain the basic advantages of the KTBH over fixed comb hives (KTBH allows for management, can be harvested with relative ease, preserves the integrity of the colony, can be easily transported, etc. * hang hives at appropriate heights and in appropriate locations (shaded, 200 meters from animals, dwellings and foot or road traffic) and explain the advantages offered by this practice (comfortable bees are less defensive and more productive). newsprint, markers, materials for 3 Kenya Top Bar Hives (no bees); 2 dozen 3-inch long nails, enough wood to make meter long handles (about 12 meters of 1" x 2" lumber), 24 meters of nylon rope, access to 3 hammers and 3 saws 25 minutes: Kenya Top Bar design. Participants will be lead through a review of the three stages of the bee/human relationship followed by a discussion of the various types of hives used for each stage. The advantages of the KTBH design will be emphasized and the participants will be lead through a review of the advantages and appropriate conditions for hanging hives hours: hive construction and hanging Participants will construct KTBH s to allow them to be hung and then installed them in appropriate locations around the training area. Stretcher handles can easily be added to the Kenya Top-Bar Hive. Such handles can be facilitate carrying fully loaded hives and provide a handy resting spot for combs removed from the hive during inspections. The handles also allow the KTBH to be hung from posts or tree-limbs to reduce damage caused by ants and bush fires and prevent knock-down by wind and domestic animals.

3 3 of 20 DAY 1, 2:00 TO 4:00 PM NATURAL ENEMIES, APIARY DESIGN AND HIVE MAINTENANCE My field visits in Ghana indicated that the client group is fairly homogenous in skill levels and that all fall within the skill set characterized as bee-having in which no manipulation of the brood nest occurs hives are merely provided for bees in a convenient location. The advantages that bee-havers can convey to their charges is sufficient to substantially increase honey production over traditional bee-hunting techniques. This session highlighted practices that can maximize the assistance afforded to bees to overcome the challenges they face. * identify at least three natural enemies of bees (ants, spiders, scorpions Polistes wasps, lizards, mouse-squirrels, termites, hive beetles, and toads in descending order of destructiveness and prevalence). * identify three other environmental challenges that bees face (heat, wind, dampness/rain). * identify three ways to make the apiary safer for humans or bees. * discuss 5 methods for increasing the efficiency of the bees work by manipulating the hive location or hive conditions. 45 minutes: Natural enemy role play. Participants will each take on the part of a colony member or natural enemy in a game/role play intended to get trainees to understand the challenges bees face in locating a suitable nest site. To paraphrase Mohammed Ali (the boxer not the beekeeper) trainees learned to float like a butterfly and think like a bee. Two teams of trainees assumed the roles of swarm bees (with one queen a number of hive bees and a smaller number of scout bees). While the hive bees danced about and serenaded their queen scout bees attempted to find an appropriate hive amongst the rooms of the training center dormitories. Scout bees who entered hives occupied by trainees posing as ants, lizards or other natural enemies will be detained. Eventually a scout from one of the swarms discovered an appropriately empty hive and lead the team to its new home. This helped drive home the concepts intrinsic in swarm nestsite searches and underlined the importance of maintaining bait hives free of occupants other than bees.

4 4 of 20 photocopied name tags and instructions identifying to which caste or age class each trainee belongs or which kind of natural enemy they are to portray the roles of natural enemies should be given to literate participants to minimize confusion and reduce verbal instruction-giving, flip charts and markers. Natural Enemy Role-Play instructions: You are spiders. If a honeybee comes into your room tell them that they have been caught in your webs and must stay with you until we come for you. You are lizards. If a honeybee comes into your room tell them that they have been eaten by you and must stay with you until we come for you. You are a colony of ants. If a honeybee enters your room tell them that the hive already has occupants and that they must keep looking for a home of their own. Add lemon grass to list of materials You are a queen bee. If your swarm succeeds in finding a hive and a honeybee from another swarm enters your room tell them that the hive already has occupants and that they must keep looking for a home of their own. You are a honeybee scout. You are searching for an empty hive. Please enter the rooms marked with the hive symbol and inspect it for suitability. If it is empty you may return to your swarm and direct them to the hive. If the hive is not empty follow the instructions of the occupants. The pictures below can be used to make badges for participants assuming the various roles.

5 5 of minutes: discussion of natural enemies and environmental challenges: A discussion period to generate a list of the natural enemies and environmental challenges bees confront will be followed by a flip-chart review of apiary selection high points to convenience working with and around bees. Apiaries should be positioned a minimum of meters from habitations, roads or footpaths and locations where animals are staked or enclosed. Hives should not be too close together, be haphazardly arranged or be placed in areas with minimal shade. Apiaries should be established where hives will receive shade during the hottest portions of the day and where bees will have access to water and nectar and pollen bearing plants. Hives should be arranged so that entrances all face outwards (or all inwards) so to create a safe zone, out of bees flight paths and the sensory periphery of bees, allowing easier apiary maintenance and hive manipulation.

6 6 of 20 VIDEO OF WILD HIVE TRANSFER The beekeeping skills of most participants will be minimal. In preparation for the removal of wild nests on the training grounds a brief video of such a practice performed at the OIC guest-house will be shown. * explain the basic technique for harvesting a wild colony * identify the materials required for harvesting wild nests 20 minutes Computer and mini projector. Working at night allows the beekeeper to work in relative safety and comfort as bee flight and hence the potential for stinging is virtually eliminated. A wild nest transfer is about the most grueling exercise that a beekeeper will undertake. Combs are cut from a wild nest one at a time and then transferred to top-bars. Hammocks of cotton cloth are tied around the comb to support it against the top-bars and one strand of thread or fishing line is wrapped around the face of the comb to keep it from flopping out of the hammock. If done correctly with the comb flush against the top bar the bees will fix the comb to the bar and remove the cotton fabric.

7 7 of 20 MONDAY, 6:00 TO 9:00 PM HONEY HARVESTING Harvesting wild colonies is very similar to harvesting KTBH s. The methods employed for harvesting are crucial to the quality of the product and are a major point of consideration for a beginning beekeeper. Trainees participated in the removal of honey from wild colonies on the grounds of the training center and transferred the combs into a Kenya Top-Bar Hive. * explain the advantages of night-time manipulations of defensive bees in comparison to daytime nest revisions. * identify the materials and equipment necessary to conduct harvesting of a wild honeybee nest. * assist in the harvesting of wild or hived colonies. * put on a bee veil. 10 minutes: basic beekeeping equipment Participants will be shown various types of veils and protective equipment and discussed their advantages and disadvantages. 10 minutes: lighting a smoker Participants practiced lighting a smoker and using it safely and effectively. 2.5 hours Participants will remove bees from a nest site in the training area. The bee space and caste biology will be introduced to participants and the concepts of bee-killing and bee-having will be discussed. protective equipment for all participants (coveralls, veils, hats, gloves, boots), smoker, spray bottle, large knives, clean buckets, flashlights, ladders, hive tools. Beekeepers will often be called upon to remove wild nests from inconvenient locations such as the eaves of houses or in this case one of the buildings at the training center. Such an exercise provides good training opportunities to novice beekeepers as well as providing raw material for sessions devoted to honey and wax processing.

8 8 of 20 DAY 2, 10:00 AM TO 12 NOON REVIEW OF COMMON PROBLEMS NOTED DURING PROJECT FIELD VISITS In the few weeks immediately prior to the training, Conrad Bérubé (the FtF volunteer) and Mohammed Ali (the locally contracted Bee Technician) conducted field visits to all of the communities represented by the participants. The problems encountered in the apiaries are likely to be fairly consistent: many hives occupied by organisms other than honey bees (bees will usually not colonize hives under such conditions) a number of apiaries arranged haphazardly clients unfamiliar with beekeeping techniques and therefore quite fearful of bees * identify means of preventing or correcting invasion of empty hives by ants, Polistes wasps, lizards, mouse-squirrels, scorpions, spiders, termites, hive beetles, and toads. * name at least three characteristics of a good apiary site including strategies for protection of hives from excessive heat, rain, wind, animals. * explain two strategies for hive arrangement that will minimize colony defensiveness and hence facilitate more thorough/frequent apiary maintenance 2 hours Video footage taken during community field visits will be reviewed with the group. Participants discussed options for avoiding or correcting the various problems encountered. Computer and mini-projector. Ants, wasps, spiders, lizards and rodents may occupy hives and prevent bees from taking up residence. During the swarm season regular visits should be made to apiaries to ensure that hives unoccupied by bees are free of pests.

9 9 of 20 DAY 2, 2:00 TO 4:00 PM COMB TRANSFER AND HANDLING OF COMBS Beginning beekeepers often find it difficult to handle combs depending from top-bars without a considerable amount of breakage. If brood combs are broken during hive manipulations such as harvesting the beekeeper will have to tie the comb back onto the top-bar or risk losing the brood from that entire comb. Transferring combs harvested from wild nests gave clients the skills to repair damage they may cause during nest inspections and harvest. Exercises in manipulating the transferred comb developed the skills required to prevent breakage in the first place. At the same time, since the activities will be performed away from defensive bees the clients could handle the comb without the necessity of wearing protective clothing. Since the comb attracted a good number of foraging bees the clients had the opportunity to observe the behavioral differences between bees searching for food in comparison to defending nest stores and brood. * attach cut or broken combs back onto top bars * competently handle comb with less breakage than previously esperienced * use KTBH stretcher-handles to hold comb when not being manipulated 1.5 hours Comb harvested from wild nests will be transferred to top bars to demonstrate the technique for installing a wild nest to a hive. Participants practiced inspecting combs as a necessary skill for harvesting or hive revision. At the same time, the basic colony resource requirements and nest structure will be reviewed during observations of the comb. KTBH top-bars, cotton rags, unraveled nylon rope strands or strong thread, knives. Transferring and manipulating comb is an important skill for beekeepers using top-bar hives so they are able to prevent and repair breakage of brood combs during harvests and other hive manipulations. Because the exercise will be performed on transferred comb, staff and local Peace Corps volunteers could assist in the session without the need for protective clothing.

10 PROTECTIVE CLOTHING 10 of 20 Novice beekeepers need instructions on proper use of protective clothing. * identify a buddy to assist in checking that protective clothing is properly adjusted. * correctly wear their veils, hats, gloves and boots 30 minutes The participants will be paired off under a buddy system and check each other over for the kinds of gaps that can be overlooked when one is girding oneself for beekeeping. protective equipment for all participants (coveralls, veils, hats, gloves, boots) Good protective equipment can make bee-work much more pleasant; new beekeepers who do not suffer extensively during their initial forays into beekeeping are far more likely to continue in the program than those who are ill-equipped. All participants in the OICT beekeeping project have access to good quality protective equipment.

11 11 of 20 DAY 2, 7:00 TO 9:30 PM WILD NEST HARVESTING Harvesting wild colonies is very similar to harvesting KTBH s. The methods employed for harvesting are crucial to the quality of the product and are a major point of consideration for a beginning beekeeper. Trainees participated in the removal of honey from wild colonies on the grounds of the training center and transferred the combs into a Kenya Top-Bar Hive. * apply smoke to drive bees from comb. * use the materials and equipment necessary to conduct harvesting of a wild honeybee nest. * harvest wild or hived colonies. 2.5 hours Wild nests will be removed from rustic hives or bee-logs. protective equipment for all participants (coveralls, veils, hats, gloves, boots), smoker, spray bottle, large knives, clean buckets, flashlights, ladders, hive tools. Heavy colony manipulations, such as the removal of a wild nest from the eaves of one of the buildings at the training center are best done at night when bees do not fly to any great degree and thus the risk of stings is greatly reduced. Encouraged by their success in the harvest participants performed an impromptu victory dance.

12 12 of 20 DAY 3, 10:00 AM TO 12 NOON SWARM INSTALLATION During swarming season swarms are often discovered hanging from tree limbs or other locations where they represent a free resource that can be collected and installed in hives. Although swarms are much more docile than colonies certain skills are required for convenient handling and hiving. * make a low-tech queen cage. * construct bee brushes from grass, inner tubes and sticks. * brush bees from surfaces. * rub a KTBH with beeswax and lemon grass to promote hive occupation. * install a swarm into a hive. * use vegetation to conceal themselves from defensive bees. * rescue an underdressed bystander from defensive bees. The colonies which had been removed over the previous evenings will likely form swarms which the participants will install in a KTBH. KTBH, screen for queen cage, candy to plug queen cage, grass brushes, strands cut from a used bicycle inner-tube. Trainees participate in hiving a swarm at the training center an exercise that built their confidence about working with bees.

13 13 of 20 DAY 3, 2:00 TO 4:00 PM HONEY PROCESSING OVERVIEW Honey production is by far the preponderant management objective of Ghanaian beekeepers, whether that production be for home consumption or for sale. The methods employed for harvesting are crucial to the quality of the product and are a major point of consideration for beginning It is important to use local materials and techniques appropriate to local client groups to harvest and process honey. * remove, extract and process ripe honey * discuss and practice proper techniques for recognizing and harvesting ripe honey * name two medicinal uses of honey 5 minutes: Intro 85 minutes: Extraction demonstration Ripe honey will be extracted from comb by pressing and filtering. buckets, screen, large knives, polyethylene sheets, used, clean bicycle inner tube Honey produced by improved harvesting and processing techniques (shown to the left in the leftmost image above) can greatly improve the quality of honey as compared to honey produced by traditional honey tapping (shown to the right in the leftmost image above). Harvesting only ripe honey from combs that do not contain brood or pollen ensures that the final product is attractive and has good flavor and self-preserving properties.

14 WAX PROCESSING 14 of 20 Wax is the second most economically important product of the hive and, even in raw form, on a weight to weight basis, is more valuable than honey. However, new beekeepers often do not recognize the economic potential of wax if properly processed. Simple techniques for purifying beeswax will encourage the clients to render comb for sale or home use. * extract wax from harvested comb * name three uses for harvested wax * provide residual larvae to poultry 60 minutes wax will be processed by bagging combs in a cotton sack and submerging the sack in a cauldron of boiling water. Extracted wax will be ladled off for cooling. charcoal, charcoal burner, cauldron, water, combs from which honey has been extracted, cotton sack, string, stirring/twisting sticks, ladle, cooling buckets. Beeswax can be even more valuable on a weight-to-weight basis than is honey if it properly processed. The images above show how beeswax can be purified by placing combs into a tight-weave cotton sack that is then placed in near-boiling water. When the wax inside the sack has been sufficiently heated the sack can be squeezed and twisted in the pot so that the wax is expressed. The molten wax floats to the surface of the water where it can be ladled off and allowed to solidify.

15 15 of 20 DAY 4, 10:00 AM TO 12 NOON HONEY PACKAGING AND POMADE (COLD CREAM) PRODUCTION A quality product will go a long way to developing the confidence that encourages return-customers and the efficient production of a product is the keystone to any marketing scheme. "Value-added products" such as creams or ointments made from wax, etc. can greatly increase the value of the raw materials that go into their manufacture. * bottle honey in a high-end direct-to-table package * produce a value-added product (pomade) from honey * name two medicinal uses of pomade 30 minutes: Packaging and marketing high-end honey. A demonstration of the production of grocery-store-quality honey introduced a discussion of shelf-life, hygiene and marketing pertaining to honey. Medicinal properties of honey and the historical significance of honey will also be touched upon. Participants washed receptacles, pasted labels and filled jars of honey. receptacles with lids, labels, glue, funnel, catch dish An attractive label can increase the marketability of the finished product.

16 16 of minutes: Clients made pomade from wax and shay butter and packaged it for distribution. charcoal, charcoal burner, cauldron, water, 1 kg of shay butter, 330g of wax, 200 grams of water, charcoal, cauldron, stirring sticks, receptacles with lids BEESWAX POMADE (COLD CREAM) (adapted from Gentry, C Small Scale Beekeeping. Peace Corps, Office of Information Collection and Exchange, Washington, D.C.) This recipe is a favorite amongst the beauty conscious and weather-chapped alike and serves as a cold cream as well as a moisturizer for dry skin: 100 gms beeswax 200 gms water 300 gms shea butter 6 gms borax (if available) aromatic essence (if desired) The borax, or sodium borate, neutralizes the acids in the beeswax and acts as an emulsifier. Put all ingredients into a pot and heat. Stir until the wax is completely dissolved and remove from heat. Add the borax to the mixture while stirring briskly. Stir until a smooth emulsion is formed. When the mixture has cooled to the point at which it is starting to solidify add the aromatic essence and stir thoroughly. When cool enough that a creamy texture is achieved pour or scoop into jars and allow to set with the lids off. Put lids on when pomade is cool. (Note: Baby oil may be substituted for the shea butter-- although the resulting product is a bit greasier. However, baby oil is a petroleum-based product and, a cosmologist friend of mine tells me, will offer only a temporary emollient effect and tends to dry out the skin in the long run. She suggests that vegetable oils, like shea butter, be used if possible, in which case care should be taken to keep the final product from going rancid if it is going to stored for more than several weeks. I have tried this recipe using several types of oil, both comestible and those used exclusively for external application, and have had success with all of them. Almond oil yields one of the most pleasant creams but is a bit more expensive and tends to go rancid if not refrigerated. I prefer not to add aromatic essences thus allowing the natural fragrance of the beeswax and the vegetable oils (in some cases) to come through. The working up of value-added products increases the opportunity for generating income at the village level. Cold-cream or pomade, like that shown above can be marketed locally or at the town and city level or used at home to protect the clients skin from the drying effects of hot winds or working in soil.

17 DAY 4, 2:00 TO 4:00 PM INTRO TO BEE BIOLOGY 17 of 20 It is necessary for all beekeepers to develop a knowledge of the functional biology of the honeybee and what aspects of that biology can be manipulated. * to identify the three castes, anatomy and life cycle of bees. * to discuss the role of each caste in the colony. * to list the resource needs of the colony. * to identify excessive drone comb in the colony as a sign of a failing queen * use low-tech means of rearing replacement queens 5 minutes: Intro 120 minutes: Anatomy Photos, video clips and dead drone and worker bees will be used to identify the anatomical differences and roles of the various castes. Cardboard puzzle bee parts will be passed out to the participants and each caste assembled on a display. As the participants put each bee together they'll be asked to discuss/conjecture on any noteworthy function of the part they have. dead drone and worker bees, bee caste puzzle, video clips, television and VCR, bee photos and flip chart illustrations, markers and pens. At minimum bee-havers or beekeepers should be able to distinguish the castes so that they do not inadvertently injure the queen and so they can recognize queen failure through the presence of excessive drones. Shown above, from left to right, are a drone, a queen and a worker.

18 DAY 4, 7:00 TO 9:00 PM BATIK 18 of 20 Batik (called "tie & dye" locally) is well developed in many parts of Ghana but not a traditional activity among the client group. The process offers another value-added product which can be used to generate income for the clients. * prepare foam stamps for creating images * dye, fix colors and remove wax from dyed cloth 60 minutes Clients melted wax, stamped, dyed and fixed colors 3 cotton T-shirts, salt and baking soda (as mordants), dye, charcoal burner, charcoal, cauldron, beeswax, foam, razor blades, large knife, cardboard, iron, clean, bland newsprint or flip-chart paper. Fabric or clothing dyed by batik is another value-added product that can be produced at the village level and for which a ready market already exists. Many of the women showed a natural talent for producing attractive patterns appropriate to the technique. Although paraffin wax is a cheaper alternative the clients indicated that paraffin will be an expensive commodity to them and that beeswax that they produced themselves will be a preferable raw material at the village level.

19 19 of 20 FRIDAY, 10:00 AM TO 12 NOON THE NECTAR CYCLE AND BASIC MANAGEMENT The basis of beekeeping is management of the brood nest in order to control swarming and synchronize the peaks of forager population in the hive with nectar flows in the surrounding area. Such management requires beekeepers to be familiar with the annual cycles of flowering in their environs and to perform manipulations of the brood nest to more efficiently exploit the nectar resources. * explain how the queen's egg-laying is influenced by floral resource cycles * name two labor inputs that will assist in maximizing honey yields * identify four resources that bees collect to meet the needs of the colony. 90 minutes Clients participated in a role play intended to illustrate how egg-laying and worker bees' progression through labor age-classes interact to determine the hive demographics. NECTAR CYCLE ROLE PLAY QUEEN:You are the queen bee-- after each cup of "nectar" you will release an adult bee from its cell (this will symbolize transition through the entire immature stage from egg to larva to pupa until adult emergence from the cell) by tapping on the head one of the trainees who is in the brood comb. FLOWER:You are a flower. Give as much nectar as you have to any bees that visit you. (Your nectar supply will be dictated by the weather god [i.e. the session facilitator]). BEES:You are a hive bee-- take the nectar from returning bees and feed the queen with it. After three weeks you will become a forager bee. When you are a forager bee your job is to find flowers and collect nectar from them. When you find a flower with nectar you should do a dance indicating to the other foragers the location of the nectar source. After 3 weeks as a forager you die. When the bee you are playing is dead, go back to sitting in the brood comb 2 buckets, 18 cups, water A good honey flow is dependent upon an abundance of nectar-bearing plants, good weather that favors nectar production and bee-flights, and a large population of foragers that peaks concurrently with the peak nectar flow brought about through good hive management. Assuming the roles of foraging bees highlighted for the trainees the interactions of environmental conditions with the hive population and how management techniques could be used to ensure that hive population peaked with the nectar flow instead of before or after the flow.

20 20 of 20 REVIEW AND CLOSING REMARKS It is usually desirable to review newly acquired skills to highlight important aspects and their applicability. Clients demonstrated their understanding of key concepts and activities covered during the training program and will be thanked for their participation and enthusiasm. The Kenya Top-Bar Hive is very appropriate for the economy, environment and characteristics of the bees in Ghanaian villages.