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Parrothead

Beekeeping is becoming more popular in Cambodia

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andy

I'm about to have a shelter built at the farm, to have some hives.

 

What is the reasoning to have a shelter built to house the bee hives?

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andy

Cambodia Natural Honey
honey_comb.jpg
Honey is a natural product that villagers in Koh Kong take from forest near their hometowns. Natural honeys is available mostly during the rainy season because bee families take pollen flowers from the forest in order to produce honey, however, the best quality of honey is available in the dry season. The natural honey has a good flavor and smell and can be used as an excellent traditional medicine.
Production: Average production is around 7,000-10,000 kg per year.
Collectors: Around 100-150 families in Sre Ambile district collect honey from the forest as a routine business.
Market: Export markets.
Business contact:
Honey traders: Preah Ankeo village, Dang Peng Commune, Sre Ambile District, Koh Kong
 

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Parrothead

 What is the reasoning to have a shelter built to house the bee hives?

 

Just to keep the hives out of direct weather. 

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andy

Sun and rain. Still it will keep you dry and shaded. But will not keep you from being stung. May cause problems with the bee's, such has building new hives in your shelter.

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andy

I never knew how artistic bee's are.

 

post-1230-0-53830100-1495372211.png

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Parrothead

 

 

But will not keep you from being stung.

 

I may be wrong here. But, I believe, how a beekeeper handles bees has a lot to do with whether or not, he gets stung.

 

 

 

May cause problems with the bee's, such has building new hives in your shelter.

 

Not sure I follow what you are saying here. I'm just talking about constructing a small barn to have a roof over the hives. I don't think it would affect them negatively, as apposed to just having the hives in the open?

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jimmyboy

sorry to be so tardy in reply.

i have been busy getting all the wood components made here locally.

The prices have indeed gone up as the supplier i was using before gave me his cost pricelist!

 

all his stuff was imported from china so quite a big transport component,

 

the bee hives i am running are 2 full depth10 frameboxes.

With the bees, we are paying $300 each.

You also need a smoker, hive tool,veil and gloves which will set you back about $60.

That puts you into hobby territory.

If you want to produce commercially, you will also need a honey extractor costing about $200.

The viets produce anything up to 40kg on longan flowers over a period o about 6 weeks.

 

I used to produce average 50 kgs a year in north qld and thisis the reported average for stationary hives.

 

price here in cambodia runs between $20-$35/kg and is easy to sell.

 

the chinese honey you see for $5/kg is either completely fake or contaminated to the point that it is not accepted into western markets.

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phuketrichard

still waiting to a response;

to show a profit of apx $400/month.

what would i need invest and how long till i would see a return.

50 kgs/year @ $30/kg=   $1,500/year!!!  Hardly worth getting out of bed for

I dont need a hobby,   not being an asshole ,just trying to  see if this is something worth looking into

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jimmyboy

I would use more conservative figures. I see it selling quickly at $20 so that is $1000 for an investment of $300.

Very few agricultural enterprises have this kind of yield.

 

Subject to actually gettiing the honey- it is very location dependent and they can starve easily in the wrong spot- you need to be able to move them easily. If you move them around, your yield could reach that of Vietnam migratory beekeepers, some of whom get 80-100 kgs/year.

 

It is heavy lifting and hard on your back so you need some strong young guys to do that.

It is not really an investment per se- more of a livelihood.

 

You don't just buy them and find the money in your account- there is plenty of work involved, but a lot less than any other legal agricultural enterprise that I know of.

 

Like any livestock it is risky- if your neighbour sprays pesticides they can all die, they can be stolen, ants and hornets can wipe them out  in hours and there is a parasite called Varroa destructor that must be managed.

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jimmyboy

I am taking delivery of a new model hive today that should be a little lower cost and have better ventilation today and hopefully less weight. It will be easily closable for moving.

So to answer your question  Andy, you could get started with a single hive for about $350 including the tools.

You would be cutting the honeycomb out like this rather than spinning it out in an extractor.

Also, it is much better to have 2 hives in case your queen dies, you can make a new one with a frame of eggs from the surviving queen.

A healthy hive with plenty of food can be split 4 times a year using simple techniques. A little more intensive management can see this 4x increase greatly expanded.

 

I will be running another 4 hour introductory course probably the 3rd week in June.

I will be putting all the pricing and equipment up on my site this week, and info about the course. will give a shout when it is up there.

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