The Central Highlands attracts a large number of workers from surrounding areas to harvest honey during the months when coffee flowers bloom.
A temporary camp
The workers make temporary camps along National Highway No. 14, which runs through Dak Lak and Dak Nong Province. They come to take care of bees, their camps surrounded by beehives.
Nguyen Van Tan, from Dak Nong Province, said, “Beekeepers have to take careful consideration when they have to move the hives around. They always do it at night so the bees are not disturbed.”
Tan says that, since February, he gathered more than 300 beehives in the coffee plantations along the highway in Dak Mil District.
“Beekeeping may take only half the effort and time that it would to till a field, but it takes a lot of patience and care,” he said.
Tan harvests his honey once every week. 300 hives can yield one tonne of honey in a year.
“The time when coffee flowers bloom is really important because the honey from these flowers is very good.” His hopes are high income this year with the price of honey being around VND30,000 (USD1.43) per kilogramme.
Other coffee plantations in the provinces of Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai are also used to harvest honey.
Nguyen Phuoc Tien, from Dong Nai, now has 250 beehives in Dak Mol Commune, Dan Nong Province.
He said he often moves anywhere between five to seven times a year in pursue of the wild bees. During the fruit flower seasons, he moves as far south as the provinces of Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Tra Vinh.
“It’s better for bees to have natural food. This is what makes high-quality honey. Beekeepers should travel to where the bees are, depending on the season: coffee, rubber or cashew nut.”
Beehives on a rubber plantation
Harvesting honey
