MIOMBO HONEY
Tanzi Honey a pollen rich, muti-flora honey with a slightly smokey, but mild flavour is sourced from community run bee hives in the Miombo Woodlands of Mlele district in Tanzania. We believe that honey production from projects in Mlele District under Tanzifarm has the potential to empower and uplift communities and reduce the rate of deforestation of the Miombo Woodlands in the region.
Our Story
Tanzi Honey is the Forest Honey that originates from the remote Miombo forests of Mlele Hills in Tanzania.. The honey itself is collected by small-scale rural beekeepers who construct traditional bark and log hives that are suspended high in the trees to avoid the attention of ants and honey badgers.
The tube-like bark hives become occupied by wild African bees which go on to fill the hive with honeycomb. Once filled, the beekeepers return to collect the honey, leaving some for the bees.
BENEFITS OF BEEKEEPING SECTOR IN MLELE
Most of Mlele district beekeepers are also small-scale farmers, for whom beekeeping is part of a diverse livelihood portfolio. Traditional beekeeping systems require little cash investment and can be easily integrated with other seasonal rural activities. Beekeeping tends to enhance agricultural productivity and hence food production through increased pollination. An estimated 90%+ of the beekeepers in the district make hives from bark or logs, and suspend them high in trees some distance from the homestead. Because of this method, beekeeping has been predominantly a male-dominated activity. However, the introduction
of modern technologies has allowed more women to get involved Both poor and wealthy households keep bees, because of the low costs, the ease of entry into beekeeping and the potentially high returns.
