Last weekend I attended in Cuiabá (Mato Grosso, Brazil) the “Technological Exchange Workshop about Native Bee Breeding, between producer communities, researchers and civil society organizations. Production and preservation systems and native bees honey legal framework”.
There were represented the following institutions: Instituto Iraquara, Projeto Abelhas Nativas (Maranhão), Universidade de São Paulo / Laboratório de Abelhas do Instituto de Biociências, Apruscipesc (Santarém), Centro de Apóio a Projetos de Ação Comunitária – CEAPAC (Santarém), Instituto Peabiru, Instituto Sociedade População e Natureza, RETE; some representatives of the indigenous peoples (Judiá e Kaiabí); some others producers.
In the first days, different experiences were presented, with a focus on the number and characteristics of the involved communities, the kind of bred bees, experiences’ history, breeding and managing techniques, and honey-collecting technologies.
On the second day, the focus was turned on the marketed products, and on the organizational arrangements. The participants tasted the honey produced by: Wilson Mello, Apruscipesc (Neida Rego), Francisco Melo e Instituto Iraquara. The legal framework was discussed too.