Most of us buy honey off the shelves and it is often processed honey. In most households in the southern districts, the age-old tradition of natural beekeeping is still alive. Villagers raise and nurture the honey bees and the product of which, natural honey, is sold in the market for a considerable amount. In Sarpang district’s Singye Gewog, villagers have now started nurturing stingless bees, locally known as putka. Locals say, putka has a high market value.
Ram Bdr. Khural from Yuejug village in Singye Gewog nurtures putka over common honey bees.
Selling putka, Ram Bdr. makes in access of Nu 70,000 annually. At the moment, a bottle of putka honey fetches over Nu 8,000.
“We harvest honey once a year. We fetched Nu 8,000 for one bottle of honey. We send most of our produce abroad.”
He said putka bees are found in the forest. He brings it home and is housed in this homemade beehive. The hollow log allows bees to build honeycomb naturally.
Villagers say putka bees are of two types, kalu putka, which has darker colour and piilo putka, which looks yellowish.
“They claimed it would cure wounds inside our bodies, and ulcer and kidney diseases,” said Kaushila Chhetri, a villager.
Putka is mostly found in the tropical regions of the country and can be raised in altitudes between 50 to 830 metres above sea level.
Yuejug village is about 20 kilometres away from the Sarpang district centre.
Karma Wangdi, Gelephu
Edited by Sherub Dorji
