Matava Eco Resort and the top Apiarist in Kadavu, Emosi, have joined forces in a unique private-community partnership to produce Organic Honey on Kadavu, Fiji.
The resort really wanted the bees primarily for pollination of the fruit trees which are abundant in the resort grounds. The honey, we thought, would be a lovely added bonus. Little did WE know!
The project came about during a discussion at a community meting in Nacamoto village between resort Director and owner Richard Akhtar and one of the dive centre’s ex-employees. Emosi parted ways with the resort dive centre in 2009 to get closer to the land and establish himself in his own business, beekeeping. He had read in the newspaper about Beekeeping training in the capital Suva, Fiji. He had got on a ferry-boat. We are now assisting the leading Apiarist for Organic Active Kadavu Honey.
The beekeeping training was run by John Caldeira an ex-Peace Corp volunteer, who returned to Fiji in 2008 with a dream to bring Fiji beekeeping onto the world stage by training beekeepers. Since the 1980′s when Caldeira was last in Fiji, beekeeping in the Western Division of Fiji had greatly expanded with help from both domestic and foreign assistance.
However, he noticed that Fiji still imported approximately 20% of its honey and there were many non successful beekeepers. He noted during his time that many of the farmers started beekeeping without any or adequate training.
Calderia said “There really were only a few skilled beekeepers here. Some started with foreign aid money and some with a bank loan, but most of them did not know basic beekeeping skills such as how to start new colonies or prevent wax moth damage. Fiji’s beekeepers in the Western Division did not have the benefit of traditional agricultural extension help, government or NGO-sponsored training, or access to beekeeping books in any language.”
As part of the Beekeeping Skills Training the participants helped beekeepers raise queens, split colonies and learn basic beekeeping skills. Formal beekeeping workshops were arranged all around Fiji and facilitated by Semi Kacanavesikula of the Fiji government’s National Center for Small and Micro Enterprise Development (NCSMED). Some technical training was delivered with help from U.S. Peace Corps volunteers.
The bees here in Fiji are a cross-breed between the ‘black bee’ from northern Europe and the Italian bee. In Fiji, approximately one-quarter of the beekeepers here are women. Both indigenous and Indo-fijian women keep bees.
Emosi signed up for one of Mr Calderia’s Beekeeping Skills Training courses and the rest as they say, is history. He currently has 150 hives of his own,a s well as looking after our little plot of 4!
Community Partnership Kadavu Organic Honey Program
The resort really wanted the bees primarily for pollination of the fruit trees which are abundantly planted throughout the resort grounds. The honey, we thought, would be a lovely added bonus.
We have a wonderful arrangement with the community Apiarist. The resort purchased the hives and the bees from the Beekeeping Association of Fiji, and transported them to Kadavu. The resort maintainance department then built supports and frames for the hives under Emosi’s direction. Once the hives were placed and settled, Emosi manages the hives and harvests the honey every 6 months.
At the core of the partnership is the agreement that we split the honey harvested 50/50.
Harvest time!
We were all in for a pleasant surprise at harvest time. None of the resort staff or management had ANY idea how much honey 4 hives would produce. So when Emosi did his first harvest we were all ASTOUNDED!
All the harvesting and extraction was done on site in the resort kitchen using Emosi’s hand driven extraction equipment.
Our first harvest yielded 54 litres/kilos!
Organic honey
Organic honey is a must in the resort kitchen as it retains its rich flavor during cooking. At the resort we have found that marinating meat for four hours in marinades containing 30% honey significantly reduces the formation of heterocyclic aromatic amines (potential cancer-causing compounds) in meat that begins to char or blacken when cooked at high temperatures. Honey has long been the choice of chefs in New Zealand for glazes and in baking.
Organic Kadavu Honey has a strong, full-flavor, malty aroma, almost pungent, with a thick red amber colour.
Supporting organic bees also means fighting the Bee Colony Collapse Disorder and sick bees! Matava is a strong advocate against conventional practices.
Our bees are fully wild! They are never fed white refined sugar like conventional bees and are not treated with any antibiotics but with organic honey, helping the immune system of the bees and not denaturing the lives of those hard workers.
Our beehives are situated at the edge of our 50m plot organic farm and are not sprayed or managed with any pesticides.
Organic beekeeping also means all the natural bee enzymes are still live and intact in our honey.
All natural, raw bee products are the best for wound care (skin problems, acne, eczema, burns, and ulcers), gastric issues (h. pylori, reflux, and heartburn), flu and cold symptoms (sore throat, infections, and sinus problems.)
Organic Honey Is A Rare Commodity
Across the globe, mites and diseases such as varroa and American Foulbrood have threatened the supply of honey and the health of the honey bee. Many beekeepers have been forced to treat their bees and bee hives with chemicals and antibiotics to ensure the supply of honey.
In addition, because bees collect pollen and nectar in a radius of about 3 miles from their hives, the residues of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and GMO’s used in agriculture and on public lands can appear in honey. As a result, most of the commercially produced honey on the grocery shelves is far from being the “natural” product one would expect.
At Matava, no chemicals or drugs are allowed in or around the bees or their hives or in the materials used to construct their hives. Additionally, all land within the bees’ flying radius are completely organic. Kadavu villagers and farmers around Matava been judicious in their use of chemicals in agriculture and public lands and we proudly boast locations that are environmentally pure and uncontaminated.
Honey and its Amazing Properties!
Rich in minerals
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, honey contains many minerals in very small quantities, potassium (11 mg per tablespoon) being the most abundant. Dark honeys are the richest in minerals. Other minerals found in Honey include calcium, zinc, magnesium, copper, manganese, iron, phosphorous, selenium, chromium, and sodium.
Rich in minerals
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, honey contains many minerals in very small quantities, potassium (11 mg per tablespoon) being the most abundant. Dark honeys are the richest in minerals. Other minerals found in Honey include calcium, zinc, magnesium, copper, manganese, iron, phosphorous, selenium, chromium, and sodium.
A Sweet Prebiotic
Honey has been used in folk medicine as a treatment for heartburn, acid reflux, sour stomach, and other intestinal distress. Perhaps the reason it is so effective is that some honeys contain significant levels of oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides are complex sugars found in some foods that encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria (specifically, Bifidobacterium bifidum and lactobacilli) in the digestive tract.
Oligosaccharides are known as “prebiotics” because they help promote the growth of “probiotics,¨ the “friendly” bacteria that help balance microflora in the human gastrointestinal tract. Oligosaccharides present include erlose, theanderose, ketose, raffinose, melezitose, maltotriose and panose.
Scientists from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Michigan State University investigated the growth and viability of commercial Bifidobacterium in honey sweetened milk. The results revealed that growth promotion and acid production were greatest when Bf-1 and Bf-6 were grown in the presence of honey (Journal of Food Science Protection; 64(11): 1775-1779).
Clinical studies have shown the following benefits of oligosaccharides:
- increase in the growth, activity and viability of beneficial bacteria in the colon,
- improved colon function
- increase in the production of beneficial short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate
- increased absorption of calcium and magnesium
- inhibited growth of harmful bacteria – as pathogenic bacterial is elimiated, mineral absorption is improved
- improved elimination of toxic compounds
- aid in restoring the intestinal flora after a course of antibiotics
