Index – Abroad – The best honey in the world is produced in war zones

Yemen has a tradition of producing honey for generations, and in a war-torn country, the lives of beekeepers alone have not yet become tragic. For others, transportation is almost impossible due to the numerous closures, and beekeepers are also relatively free to raise their bees between the front rows.

There may be hundreds of thousands of small manufacturers in Yemen, according to the UN. According to the report, it produces 1,580 tonnes of honey per year, of which 840 tonnes is for export.

Cider honey can sell for as much as $ 500 a pound in neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf.

Although beekeepers say Yemeni honey deserves to be on the world market, it is difficult because of decades of political instability. However, the government has now realized that it can bring a lot of money into the country, and local beekeepers, wholesalers and exporters are eager to “share Yemen’s liquid gold with the world.”

Chad has been keeping bees for ten years and learned the basics from his uncle. With his three young staff, they show interest as they line up the wooden armies and rooms side by side. The bees are smoked with a burning cloth so as not to sting. “True, after so many changes, you will never feel it again,” Sayte says.

Forty-year-old man 2015-Ben He lost everything. Hutus invaded Sabwa and blocked the roads leading to neighboring Abhiyan, where sycamore bees were also destroyed due to a lack of water. It took him two years to start again. 300 troops have actually spent more than two thousand dollars on Yemen. Today, its forces can be found throughout Sabba, in the mountains, deserts and coastal areas, depending on the season.

Cider honey can be harvested once a year, and honey from other native plants throughout the year. Even a generation ago, honey was collected in hollow tree trunks and carried on the back of a camel. Nowadays, thanks to foreign engines and vans, everything is so much easier, the only problem is that many times there is not enough fuel.

Although there is money in beekeeping, there are also numerous challenges: fighting often makes it difficult to get to flowering areas, and uncontrolled pesticides used by farmers also pose a danger to bees. In addition, beekeepers are often at risk: the country is littered with unmarked landmines. At night, when the bees are resting and it is easy to carry them, Saudi and American drones see moving beekeepers as suspicious warriors. Wholesaler Mohammed bin Lasher said one of his suppliers was targeted in the airstrike:

Fortunately he survived and they must have thought he was an al-Qaeda member for something.

Despite the dangers, more and more people in rural Sabwa are engaged in beekeeping for financial reasons. Older beekeepers are happy about this, but are worried because if the number of bees grows in one place, it will be difficult for them to find the right food and water, and this may be at a loss of quality.

Dozens of beekeepers in the main square of Attack are waiting for buyers and wholesalers, but not yet much success. “This is my first season,” says twenty-five-year-old Saleh. – I like it, I enjoy working so far. Other beekeepers encouraged me to cut, and then we would see it grow. ”

Local beekeepers, local authorities and aid agencies say there will be enough work for everyone to plant cider trees, which is why they are now campaigning. The other requirement to expand the possibilities is to set up a standard company and have food safety certification, which will allow organic Yemen honey to appear on the international market.

Yemen, or the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, has long been known throughout history as Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia), thanks to the incense trade. The biblical Kingdom of Sheba was located in the region, and the famous port city of Mocha, al-Maqa in Arabia, was a prosperous center of the coffee trade in the 17th century.

Despite its unique cultural heritage, Yemen is humane today Disaster face to face. During the six-year civil war, four million people fled their homes, most of them fleeing the country. Moreover, only Syria, Colombia and Congo were forced to flee. At the beginning of March, the UN. According to the report, 66 percent of the population lives in vulnerable areas. Eighty percent of them need some form of humanitarian assistance. Yemen was already one of the worst countries before 2015, with half of the population living in poverty and no access to drinking water.

The UN also points out that by 2021, more than one million pregnant or breastfeeding women will be malnourished. Liz Grande, the organization’s program manager, released an open letter last September about the severity of the situation and the lack of resources to intervene.

The effects of funding are enormous and devastating. Aid workers are forced to admit to starving families and patients because there is nothing they can do.

In early March, the UN held a virtual conference with more than a hundred governments and donor organizations, hoping it would succeed. In order to collect Nearly $ 4 billion was needed, but only a fraction of that was $ 1.7 billion.

(Cover photo: A Yemeni merchant pours honey into his shop in 2012. Photo: Mohammed Huais / AFP)