# Beekeeping in Jamaica



## flyingbrass (Jul 2, 2011)

Here is a photo I took in 2009 while in Jamaica. Its part of what made me want to get back to bees. Anyone want to make comments on the photo, I welcome it.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Tomas said:


> One thing that seems to interest them is the ability to get more wax which is a problem in Jamaica. It can’t be imported so the beekeepers here have to find ways to get enough so they can get the foundation they need—especially if they are expanding.


Hmm, I'm not sure what is going on here. There is another current Beesource thread posted by a member also in Jamaica, who want to rapidly expand his hive count. He has calculated that buying the necessary foundation would cost $13,000. 

http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...e-s-a-crazy-idea-to-save-on-foundation-cost-!

Tomas, are you really saying that beeswax and presumably foundation cannot legally be imported into Jamaica?


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

Here are some more photos from Jamaica and some of the things we've done and that I've seen in the last couple days.

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http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica005.jpg

Kwao Adams took the initiative before I arrived and built a top bar hive from plans he had found on the internet with the help of the interns. He had removed a small colony from a termite nest which we transferred into this hive. He said wild colonies are rather common in these nest. Parakeets first move into them to make a hollow and start a nest. Later a swarm takes advantage of the cavity to start a colony.

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This termite nest has bees in it which we will eventually try to remove and transfer into a top bar hive. He’s found quite a number of wild colonies which we can use to get an apiary started. He also took the initiative and built a number of swarm traps—but no luck so far. This doesn’t seem to be the swarming season.

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Kwao had set out a box on an old coconut stump and managed to catch a swarm. The box was set up with only two frames, however, so the bees had built everything crosswise and had comb attached to the cover. We went in there and removed the comb, attaching it to top bars using string. The transfer went surprising well. The bees stayed relatively calm throughout the transfer. I was working the whole time without gloves and had only one sting. By the next day the bees were settle in the new box and fixing up their home.

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These photos are from an apiary set up behind the hardware store where we went to buy materials for building some top bar hives. They belonged to the owner who said he began keeping bees when he was 14 years old. Although busy with the hardware store he finds time to work the bees also. There were approximately 14 hives set up here. Most had bees but a few appeared to be empty.

This beekeeper builds much of his own equipment, including frames. I’m getting the impression that this is common for many Jamaican beekeepers. 

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Tom


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Hmm, I'm not sure what is going on here. There is another current Beesource thread posted by a member also in Jamaica, who want to rapidly expand his hive count. He has calculated that buying the necessary foundation would cost $13,000.
> 
> http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...e-s-a-crazy-idea-to-save-on-foundation-cost-!
> 
> Tomas, are you really saying that beeswax and presumably foundation cannot legally be imported into Jamaica?



Graham, sorry it’s taken a bit to respond. I double check with the people hosting my visit here and they say that yes indeed Jamaica will not import wax. They are very concerned about introducing bee diseases and trying to avoid ccd. That means that importing queens is also prohibited. 

Next week I’m scheduled to give a presentation to a beekeeping association located on the other side of the island, in the extreme north west part. They are very interested in top bar hives for that very reason. Supposedly they can’t meet their wax needs with their Langstroth hives. And at the same time it seems that they want an economical alternative. I’ll be mentioning what I learn.

The following are some photos of a colony removal that we did.

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We’ve begun to remove wild colonies to get some top bar hives filled and an apiary started. The first full removal they did with me was on Sunday afternoon (They had attempted some on their own beforehand). My host for this project had found a hollow bee tree that looked like a good candidate for removal. The main entrance was about two feet off the ground. There was a second entrance about 12 feet up in the tree where bees had been seen exiting. So this was potentially a very big hive.
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The potential size of the colony worried us a bit. We had some nine-bar trap hives but were questioning if they might have sufficient room to hold it. We decided to make a two foot top bar hive—small enough to still be portable but big enough to hold a good sized colony. They came out nice.
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The walk to this bee tree was spectacular with the view of the ocean we had on the way. This particular section of coastline had very high cliffs with the waves crashing on shore down below.
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After knocking the tree down we started cutting off wedge-shaped pieces to open up the cavity and expose the colony. We delt with the bees and comb from one section before opening up more of the tree trunk. What we basically did was look for the queen, cut and remove that comb, look some more for the queen, shake/brush those bees into the box, tie the comb into a frame and put it into the hive box. We then repeated this with the next comb.
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The bees remained surprisingly calm throughout the entire removal process. For just about the entire time I kept my veil down around my neck. My only sting was from accidently crushing a bee with my hand. Working these bees are a very nice change from what I normally do with my ornery africanized bees in Honduras.
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The last of the comb came out attached to the wedge we cut from the trunk. We simply set it right on top of our little top bar hive while looking for the queen and removing these combs. 
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In the rustic hive that we had transferred into a top bar hive previously we simply tied the comb to the bar with string—making a type of sling and using a small piece of palm frond to keep the string from cutting into the comb at the bottom. It worked but wasn’t the easiest. You need to tie the string snug so the comb stays secure and doesn’t fall out. There are some other ways to tweek this method that I want to show them on future cutouts.

For this cutout, however, we decided to make up some frames for tying in the comb and facilitate the process. We had power tools available which made this fairly easy—all we had to do was calculate angles (30 degree bevels with this hive) and the length of the pieces.
Although frames may be difficult for some people/farmers to make, especially without the proper tools, it makes dealing with the comb very easy. We used fishing line to hold the combs in the frames.
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The group of us who did this cut out—and a successful one at that. By the time we were done the tree trunk was beeless and they had all basically entered the box. The box was set on the stump of the tree with the entrance just about exactly where the tree entrance had been, helping the bees a lot to orient themselves into their new home. Two days later the bees were checked on and there was activity like normal at the entrance of the box. 

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Tom


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I don't understand the wax situation, if they want to make wax, then make wax, what does it matter as to what type of hive it is? Just let the bees make a mess in any type of box and harvest the wax or just feed the strong colonies like no tomorrow and make them draw out frames for other hives. Either way you're making the bees do more work whether it's a TBH or a Lang. In the lang just space the wax production frames out and let them draw huge thick comb if the purpose is to make wax for foundation. Otherwise, I'm sure strong hives could pull frames pretty quick, just keep the queen off of them.


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

JRG13--what you’re saying makes sense. I agree with you. If someone already has frame hives started, they can just go foundationless in the super and cut everything out. They get more wax. Space out the frames and get fat combs.

Unfortunatly there are also those interested in beekeeping here who can’t afford the frame equipement or who don’t have the tools to do a good job of making it. I think that’s where the top bar hives come in. I’m trying to give them as many options as possible according to the situation of each one. I’m all top bar hives in Honduras but at the same time I’ve worked several seasons with a 2000-hive commercial beekeeper in Wisconsin. I see both sides to this. I appreciate the comment.

Tomorrow I’m traveling to meet with a beekeeping cooperative on the northwest side of the island. I could be meeting with as many as 40 beekeepers in a meeting they’re setting up. I will be interesting to talk to them and hear about what kind of challenges they’re facing. The man who is putting me up during this visit apparently has 700 hives. Other members of the group are brand new beekeepers. 

This is all about giving them options. Everybody is in a different situation. The people who are hosting my visit really want top bar hives but understand the advantages of frames hives also.

So any ways, here’s another cut out we did.

*Colony removal from a hollow stump*

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The plan we had for today was to do another colony cut out—this time from a stump. We spent the morning making more frames for the cut out tbhs. The three boxes that we made on Monday all have frames now and are ready to be used.

This colony was located in a large stump among the banana trees of a farmer called Cap who was more than willing to let us have it. Judging by the size of the stump we were expecting another large colony. Their entrance was a hole located down by the roots.
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Cutting the stump—Jamaican Rasta style.
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The exposed colony. The first combs didn’t look to promising—they were kind of old and brittle. But it turned out to have a good bit of brood in all stages. The frames for the cutout made transferring the comb to the tbh an easy job.
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As it turned out, the colony wasn’t as big as we thought. They had the nest in the cavity down by the roots. Although there was a bit of a hollow going up into the stump, the bees hadn’t built any comb up there. We did manage to find the queen in this colony crawling around on one of the combs. We promptly put here into the tbh box amongst some of the comb we had transferred into there.
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We cut the stump off straight and set the tbh on top of it. The landing board was at the back of the stump, right above the remaining bees. With a little bit of smoke for encouragement, the bees began climbing up and went right into the box. 
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Jamaica has been having a bad dry spell for the last couple months. This colony had very little stores so we went back later to feed it and then the others that we had removed in the last couple days. We used a type of readily available brown sugar to feed them. The feeder wasn’t anything fancy—a plastic jug we cut in half and some screen and sticks so the bees wouldn’t drown.
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We also went to feed the coconut stump hive—a rustic hive that we had transferred into a tbh several days before. There we saw one of the pests that bothers bees in Jamaica—lizards. They sit by the entrance eating bees. There were two lizards by this hive. 

The bees seemed to have settled nicely into their new box. They jumped right on the sugar syrup we gave them. On the next visit we will probably take a peek at the combs and see how they attached them to the top bars.

When we returned to the mountain to feed the bees, we also went up to my host’s other farm located a bit further away. He says he has 18 acres there. Some of it is cultivated but other parts of it are forest. Someone said they had seen a colony of bees in one of the trees on the property. We looked for it but unfortunately couldn’t find it. We will need to find that person to point it out to us.
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We took advantage of being there to get some of the fruit. There was a large jackfruit tree with several of them ripe. We also collected some coconuts, mangos and plantains. Because of the dry spell the sweet fleshy part inside the pods of the coco tree weren’t as good as they could be—not bad though. Fruit is all over the place—you starve only if you’re too lazy to go pick something from a tree. There a probably fifteen different fruits in season right on the farm that’s hosting my visit.

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Tom


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

Thanks for taking the time to share this here, Tomas. I've always enjoyed your posts.

Adam


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## whiskers (Aug 28, 2011)

Tomas- With what I've heard about Africanized bees I expected to see a picture of you in a beesuit made of hammered sheet metal, yet I see that you use simple things probably locally or self made. You give me faith that one can participate in this endeavor without spending nearly as much money as I first thought.

I concur with Adam- this is a really interesting thread and I hope for more.

Thanks

Bill


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Cool Deal Tomas, I can see now if you're limited by equipment you gotta do what you gotta do. I can see where the TBH makes sense in this situation since the bees can probably draw them out pretty quick and you get a steady flow of wax.


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

Tomas, have you looked at all at recommending the tanzanian, or straight-sided top bar hive? 

I have 5 Kenyan tbh's myself, and have found that they're more difficult to build with the angled sides - and are therefore a bit more tricky to accurately standardize in your operation. If you get a little bit off with that angle, combs don't transfer easily from one box to another.

I have thought that if I got into expanding in tbh's, I would make 19" wide, straight-sided boxes, as they would be simpler to build, and easy to interface with langs when you need a nuc or whatever.

Adam


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

Whiskers, fortunately there are no Africanized bees in Jamaica. It’s been a real pleasure to deal with bees here where I don’t have to where full protective gear like I must in Honduras. I went to the apiary of a commercial beekeeper the other day. He had approximately 40 hives in this location. You did want to keep a veil on here but we worked without gloves and without a full suit. He was saying that he does not want Africanized bees on the island. 

Adam, as far as the Kenyan and Tanzanian tbhs, I’m giving them both options and explain the pros and cons of both. They can then decide what they want to use.

*Hanover Bee Farmers Co-operative Society, Ltd.*

Early this week I had the chance to visit with some of the founders of the Hanover Bee Farmers Co-operative Society Ltd. The cooperative is still in its infancy having only been formed within the last year. It is located in the area of Lucea, a coastal city in the north-west portion of Jamaica. They had invited me to give a talk on top bar hives to a group of new beekeepers they are forming in a small community in the hills above Lucea.

One of the main objectives of this cooperative is to help the area beekeepers with the marketing of their honey. Jamaican beekeepers are meeting the domestic demand for honey at the moment, according to Linval Blagrove, the organization’s vice president and the largest producer in the area, with 700 hives. The problem will be in the near future as new beekeepers begin and present beekeepers expand. Jamaica will need to set up an infrastructure for exporting honey. For this to happen he said the beekeepers must be united and work together. Individually the Jamaican beekeepers won’t be able to do so.

The cooperative’s goal is to bottle and export their honey, probably to Europe. Their idea is to establish a bottling plant and produce honey that will meet the standards of the European Union. Initial work is already in progress to finance the bottling plant.

Linval has worked over the years to establish a base through which he can sell his own production without problems that is sometimes up to 80 barrels a year. Looking toward the future, a cooperative such as this will be necessary with the growth the Jamaican beekeeping industry is experiencing. He also mentioned that not having to worry as much about marketing will let him focus more on production and the bees themselves.

Among other objectives is the training of the member beekeepers. They are actively promoting beekeeping in the area. This was evident with their invitation for me to come and give a talk about top bar hives with new beekeepers they are forming in an area community, Smithfield. They are not only recruiting current beekeepers but also forming new ones with the help of government apiary officials. Nearly 60 people attended the meeting/training session.

To take this a step further, the cooperative is also seeking funding through banks for these new members to finance this endeavor. According to Linval, this is not always easy. Some banks are skeptical about giving loans for beekeeping because they are not familiar with the activity. Banks also often charge interest rates of 20 percent. 

Lindval hopes that working through a bank such as his own or of the other successful members they can get the low interest rates they need for new members. The bank should be able to see how much money they move with their respective operations and how profitable it is for them. He hopes this hard evidence will facilitate financing. Ideally he wants single digit interest rates for these loans.

The Hannover Bee Farmers Co-operative presently has 30 shareholders. They are hoping one day to have as many as 200. Their focus is on the beekeeper that does this commercially and not as a hobby or for household purposes. They would like new members to begin with a minimum of five hives and within two years grow to at least 50 hives.

New members are required to buy a share of the cooperative, costing $7,500 Jamaican dollars or about $88 U.S. dollars. There is also a registration fee of $500 Jamaican dollars. The members can buy more shares if they want and the shares can be resold to the cooperative is they desire to leave the organization.

The cooperative will pay its members a base price for their honey and then also divide any yearly profits according to the shares each member owns.

Longer term plans include providing equipment for members to buy.

The Hannover area beekeepers presently sell their honey for $700 Jamaican for a 750 ml bottle. That price can fluctuate between $600 and $1000. The exchange rate with U.S. dollars is about 85:1.
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Myself (right) with Lorene Holness-Muir, the president of the Hanover Bee Farmers and Astley Muir, her husband and a beekeeper.
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Participants at the beekeeping workshop in Smithfield, Hannover, Jamaica. About 60 people attended the meeting that introduced them to beekeeping. Some of them are beginning as a group and have already chosen their apiary site.
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Wain Andeson, the government apiary official for the parishes of Hannover, Westmoreland and St. James in the eastern part of Jamaica. He gave the participants a basic overview of bees, beekeeping, equipment and Langstroth hives.
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Linval Blagrove (right), the vice president of the Hannover Beekeeping Cooperative, and myself stopped for a moment to visit one of the apiaries of Astley Muir, husband of the cooperative’s president. Muir has about 30 hives in this apiary but owns about 200 in total.
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Tom


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

*Profile of a Jamaican commercial beekeeper*

I was fortunate enough to be invited to spend a morning with a commercial beekeeper in one of his yards. The day following my top bar presentation in the Lucea area of Northwest Jamaica, Linvald Blagrove took me to one of his apiaries in the hills near Montego Bay. It was a good opportunity to see how a commercial beekeeper worked his hives on this island and to exchange ideas and information with him and his workers.

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The photo shows Blagrove giving introductions during the meeting with potential new beekeepers in the Smithfield areas of Lucea. He is a very dynamic and motivational person.

Blagrove, who is now 43 years old, began beekeeping when he was 16 with the help of another local beekeeper. He presently has 700 hives and is the largest beekeeper in the Hannover area. Most other commercial beekeepers seem to have around 200 hives. Blagrove’s plans are to expand to 1000 hives. He is also the vice president of the recently formed Hannover Bee Farmers Cooperative. In a good year he says he will produce about 80 barrels of honey.

My impression after spending several days with him is that he is the type of beekeeper who always seems to be observing carefully what the bees are doing and always trying new ideas to see what will help improve his operation. For example, he recently bought a small cell foundation mill when he noticed that the cells in the natural comb he would find in his hives was smaller than the comb being drawn with normal foundation. Although he has just started incorporating small cell foundation into his operation, he is optimistic about the results.

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Blagrovel went out to this apiary with a crew of five—all young men. Two of the helpers have enough experience where he trusts them to make divisions on their own. The other three were still novices who he has brought in to help him and to train—including his 17-year-old son. One of the main helpers will need to be replaced eventually since his plans are to go to medical school. Blagrove had gotten him started with his own hives and has him help with his own hives so he can be earning some money before going to the university.

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One of the interesting ideas that I got right from the beginning was his use of cardboard as smoker fuel. I would use it to get my smoker burning but never as the fuel itself considering the glue that was in it. Blagrove said he would just use the cardboard that was from boxes that had contained food and without strong smells, such as from soap. He would roll it into a tube and it would last him several hours. He had tried many other things like dried banana leaves and wood shavings from his carpentry shop but he said the cardboard worked best to keep the bees calm.

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Although it was still the dearth period, Linval was making divisions so he could have them ready for the beginning of the honey flow in December. He would make the split but put the old queen in the new colony and move that to another part of the yard. He said it would get a better start that way and more bees would stay with the nuc. The mother hive would get the new queen. 

He mentioned, however, that if he was moving the nucs to another yard, he would then give them the new queen, and not the mother hive. This is what he would do during the honey flow to relieve population pressure and prevent swarming. Varying the nuc building methods would give him better results according to the time of the year he was doing this.

This was sort of a central yard in his operation so it was convenient to use it for making nucs, according to Blagrove. They could be gotten easily from this apiary and then taken to others that are located further away for replacing bad hives or increasing the yard. His idea was to make about 100 nucs.

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Blagrove raises his own queens, sometimes grafting them and sometimes using the Nicot queen rearing system. He mentioned that he is selective about the queens or hives he chooses for grafting purposes. He is putting emphasis on hygienic behavior in order to help prevent or control foul brood and deal with mites. He wants his bees to promptly remove any dead or sick brood. To choose hives for this purpose he goes as far as cutting squares of brood from frames, freezing them to kill the brood and then replacing the squares and monitoring how the bees clean out the dead larvae and pupa.

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Blagrove said he has noticed, however, that sometimes the hygienic behavior results in a hive that is a lower honey producer. He said it seems like the bees sometimes prefer cleaning house to going out and working. He tries to find the best balance possible with the traits he is looking for.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica67.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica68.jpg

He also mentioned that he doesn’t feed too much at this time of the year, even though there really isn’t any nectar coming in. He wants the hives to maintain themselves but not really grow. Blagrove said he doesn’t want the queen to get overworked and fizzle out at the beginning of the season. He prefers the queen to enter the honey flow nice and strong.

In addition to being a beekeeper, Blagrove is also a carpenter and makes all his own equipment. The preferred wood is what Jamaicans call cedar but which I’ve been told is what we would call mahogany in the United States. It’s expensive but he said it will last 20 years and is termite resistant.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica69.jpg
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His wax rendering system is rather simple. Wax is melted in a big pan with water over a fire and then simply strained through some window screen. He mentioned that he himself has no problem with having enough foundation available for his operation. There is not enough wax foundation, however, for all the new beekeepers that are beginning and current smaller beekeepers that are expanding. He says he feels pressure from having to supply it for others.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica72.jpg

As far as his bees, there were a good number flying in the air as they went through hives. They weren’t overly defensive, however. Although they would occasionally get a sting, Blagrove and his workers didn’t use gloves. Veils were necessary however.

He also mentioned that they would normally do extracting right in the yard with a group of four. One person would be pulling the honey and removing the bees, one would be going back a forth with the full frames or empty frames and two would be decapping and extracting. If the bees would rob at certain times of the year, they would extract inside a type of tent. He has plans to build a warehouse on his property and an extraction facility is part of it.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica73.jpg
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http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica81.jpg

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Tom


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

*Strawberry Fields Together cutout*

About a week ago we decided to tackle our fifth colony cut out, this time in a duck ant nest at Stawberry Field Together, a small, laid-back resort/hotel next to Yerba Buena Farm. It was located high up in a tree so the original idea was to tie a rope around the top part of the tree and try to lower the branch with the termite nest slowly as it was cut down below. We wanted to partially cut it below the nest and let it slowly fall over.

Kwao climbed up into the tree and tried to get the rope tied above it. It didn’t work so well—a lot of bees were hanging around outside the nest. He did get the rope around the upper part of the tree however. So they gave us permission to topple the whole tree. Since we had the rope tied around the upper portion of the tree so we decided to still try and let the tree drop slowly as it was cut.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica82.jpg

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Desmond got the chainsaw going and started cutting—before everyone was ready. He cut the tree too much and we couldn’t hold it to lower it down gently. It fell pretty hard and bees started flying. Everybody ran, 12-year-old Emannuel screeching because he had a bee or two or three in his dreads. A couple of the others got a sting or two. Everyone was wondering what happened to me but I was the only one who stayed and put on a veil (I felt I almost had to stay since I’m suppose to be the professional here).
Luckily they weren’t riled up to the extreme. They settled down pretty quickly. Although the tree fell fairly hard, the termite nest didn’t bust open.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica85.jpg

Everyone eventually wandered back with their equipment now on (lesson learned—again. This was the second time Desmond jumped the gun with his chain sawing.) We found a spot to set the box, another to set the cover as the comb-tying station and got everything else set up. Desmond threw on my full suit—but with flip-flops. This was an original way to wear it.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica86.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica87.jpg

Kwao took a small hatchet and started hacking into the termite nest. The first combs came out pretty nice. Each was checked for the queen.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica88.jpg

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We finally got to the last comb but there still wasn’t any queen. There was a bunch of bees on the underside so we put the box beneath the trunk to brush those in. Then we put the box on top, trying to figure out how to get the bees in the box and find the queen. They still weren’t eagerly marching into the box. There was a couple nooks and crannies in the tree trunk where the queen was probably hiding.

There were still a lot of bees hanging around the entrance down below so I started scooping them into the box with my hand (and not gloves—they now were real calm). Kwao finally spotted the queen running around in the termite nest. We handed him the queen cage, he put it on top of her, she climbed up into it and he put the plug in. We tied a piece of sting to the cage and lowered it in between a couple of the frames. The sting was so attached so we could get the cage out to release her later without having to reach all the way into the hive.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica92.jpg

We set the box right on top of the trunk and started smoking the remaining bees to coax them into the hive. They started marching in. Success.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica93.jpg

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We released the queen the following day. Two days later we went back with the kids, including two local girls who are interested in learning about bees. This would be their first exposure to them. The bees had settled in and were nice and calm. Everybody could get right up to the hive to watch them come and go. This was their first up-close experience with bees.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica96.jpg

The bees have since been moved to the upper farm with a couple other hives. I can say the top-bar apiary is now officially started. It will eventually be used as a tool to promote top-bar beekeeping with interested people.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica97.jpg

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Tom


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## Cheech (Oct 22, 2011)

Wow Tomas, 
I missed you. I just saw this post today, I'v been busy lately and didn't check this forum from before July. What a bummer.
Anyway, glad you had a successful visit and enjoyed yourself


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## CULTURED REDNECK (May 3, 2012)

Great post!
Jamaica must be awesome...


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

Cheech, I'm sorry we missed each other. There is a good chance that I will be going back to do some follow up work with the people in St. Mary and in Hannover. Hopefully it will work out next time. I'll try to let you know. Your island is a wonderful place--both for beekeeping and just to visit and relax.

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Tom


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

*Final thoughts on my Farmer to Farmer top bar hive assignment*

My month of beekeeping in Jamaica is over and I have been back home in Honduras for about a week now. The whole Farmer to Farmer assignment keeps running through my head, however. My thoughts keep going back to the month I spent setting up a top bar hive beekeeping project with the wonderful people at Yerba Buena Farms in St. Mary, Jamaica, and promoting this hive with bee farmer associations on the island. There are still some experiences that I want to share with everyone.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the main interests among Jamaicans for top bar hives is the increased wax production. Wax cannot be imported into Jamaica. The government wants no further bee diseases to enter the country, especially something like colony collapse disorder. Obtaining wax is difficult for the new beekeepers and those who want to expand their operation.

The bigger reason for tbhs in Jamaica, in my opinion, is probably the economics of starting this system. There are severe economic problems in Jamaica, just like there are in Honduras. Many people, especially young adults, need some sort of project or job to generate income for themselves and their families. Beekeeping has this potential. Two or three bottles of honey are the equivalent of a day’s wage. The amount of time needed for the bees also allows them to have another job at the same time.

But the problem is having the money to start beekeeping, especially when everyone really only knows the movable frame system. When you add in the costs of the boxes, frames and foundation, the costs are quite elevated and daunting. Add in the need for an extractor and things get worse. Borrowing an extractor is not so easy in Jamaica anymore because so many beekeepers are worried about transferring foulbrood into their operations. People always have the option of a loan but interest rates often run 20 percent or more—it makes you think twice about getting one.

The economic problems in Jamaica and the difficulties beekeepers and people in general face are the same that I see in Honduras. It is something I live and deal with every day. Simply buying everything is not an option. You must always consider different ways to do something—using alternative materials and making equipment oneself.

The hives that I was helping to set up are part of a model apiary that will eventually be used to train beekeepers in the top bar hive system. As part of this, I wanted to also incorporate as much appropriate technology equipment as possible so beekeepers can see the options out there to get started in beekeeping. You don’t have to spend lots of money and buy everything—much of the equipment can be made.

We made three different types of boxes during the month. Before I arrived the folks at Yerba Buena Farms in St. Mary took the initative and made an all wood box based on the Barefoot Beekeeper plans. It came out nice. The problem is the amount of wood it needs—not always cheap. This one was made out of pine, which must be imported. The other local option is often what Jamaicans call cedar, but for us is a type of mohagany. It’s a nice wood that lasts very long but also expensive. There are other local woods that are also very durable (20 years) and cheaper but they tend to warp a lot, making it tricky to work with them.

One thing I didn’t like too much was the cover. It is nice but is a lot of wood. You basically have the sides for a whole other box there.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica011.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica005.jpg

Another option we tried was using a material call celotex, a type of hardboard. A sheet of this is realatively inexpensive and cuts the cost considerably compared to imported pine or cedar. It’s easy to work with and makes a light box that is easy to transport. We put a coat of varnish on it to make it last longer. Some beekeepers were using this as part of their hive lids and they would cover it with tin. 

The box looks pretty. It remains to be seen how well they hold up. As long as the box keeps dry, I think it should do well. The smaller two-foot box seen in the photos was for temporarily housing cutouts—big enough to hold the bees and their comb but small enough to transport easily.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica98.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica99.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica100.jpg

We also developed a bamboo hive. Bamboo is available through out Jamaica. It has become very invasive and there are actually projects underway to eliminate the bamboo and replant with hardwood trees.

The guesthouse I stayed in used woven bamboo to make wall panels. We took that idea and decided to incorporate it into a bee box. My host built all his guest cabins so he was able to teach me the technique. It is a bit of work but the result looks beautiful and should last a good number of years. He said that unvarnished it should last for at least seven years. With some vanish more than ten years. 

To fill the gaps between the bamboo strips, you can use the “fronds”of a plant they call screw pine, the stem part of banana leaves (everywhere in Jamaica) or coconut palm fronds (also everywhere). We took the box to a beekeepers meeting where I gave a presentation about top bar hives. It got a lot of attention; so much that two of the beekeepers want to actually buy one. And its name—the Rasta Hive.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica102.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica101.jpg

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http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica106.jpg

Another project we made during my month stay in Jamaica was a pollen trap that fits on a top bar hive. For it to work, the tbh must have an end entrance with a bit of landing board on which to set the pollen trap. People in Jamaica understand the nutritional values of pollen so there should be a market for it. 

The problem is finding the right size material for the entrance screen. You almost need to import it since beekeepers can’t find it on the island. The smaller screen over the drawer is available, however. The alternative we used was a piece of tin with the proper sized holes drilled or punched in it. I’ve tried it before and it works. The bees just need to get use to coming in and out of the small hole. All other possible entrances in the hive also need to be stuffed shut so the bees are forced to use the pollen trap entance. The entrance grid can be removed without taking off the whole trap. 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica108.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica109.jpg

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http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica111.jpg

These next photos are of my mold in Honduras and the foundation that results so everyone can get a better idea of what it is and how it works.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/WaxFoundationpress.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Makingwaxfoundation.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Waxfoundation.jpg

Some of the other equipment projects included homemade veils, gloves, queen cages and smokers.

Another idea for the model apiary is to actually hang some of the tbhs between trees using wire--simple, cheap and effective. There are small lizards in Jamaica that like to sit outside the hive entrance and eat bees. They may not be able to cross the wire, especially if you put a bit of grease on it.

Offering options also went for how to get bees for your hives. People can buy Langstroth hives to transfer into a tbh but it could cost you as much as two weeks of wages. Package bees aren’t available (although an enterprising beekeeper could probably make some to sell). 

So we hung trap hives and removed wild colonies—free bees. Eventhough it was not the prime swarming season, we did manage to capture one swarm. We suspect however that it may have been the colony that decided it didn’t like being removed from its termite nest and getting transferred into a tbh. At least it demonstrated that they should work. About 80 percent of the colony transfers were successful, however. 

The project has removed about 12 wild colonies so far. There are probably at least that many more that can be removed. People were constantly coming forward to say where they had seen colonies. There seems to be a very healthy population of bees in the bush—an indication of the state of bees in general in Jamaica.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica115.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica116.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica117.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica125.jpg

Although not “appropriate technology”, we made some tbh frames to aid us in the cutouts. We had a table saw available so it was easy enough to do. 

With the first colony cutouts we simply tied the comb to the top bar using string and piece of palm frond to protect the bottom. It worked but it was hard to keep the comb snug against the top bar. We had to slip little pieces of wood under the string on top of the bar to tighten it up. 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica118.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica119.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica120.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica121.jpg

I mentioned that I had made frames for cutouts and my host wanted to try it. It was much easier to deal with the comb using them.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica122.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Jamaica Beekeeping/BeekeepinginJamaica124.jpg

In the end, the more alternatives you can present to people, the more accessible beekeeping will be to those who could really benefit from it. The project has a very promising beginning.

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Tom


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## Cheech (Oct 22, 2011)

Tom, it's been so interesting reading about your experiences, especially since your beekeeping conditions are very similar to ours. Looking forward to meeting up with you


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## Curtis Thompson (Feb 28, 2013)

Hi Tomas,

you spoke about lizards as the main pest in Jamacia.....how do you combat this pest?
what are the other main pests for jamacian honey bees? and how do you prevent these (or at least try)


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## Curtis Thompson (Feb 28, 2013)

Curtis Thompson said:


> Hi Tomas,
> 
> you spoke about lizards as the main pest in Jamacia.....how do you combat this pest?
> what are the other main pests for jamacian honey bees? and how do you prevent these (or at least try)


is there a way to prevent the lizards without hanging the hives, just keeping them on stands?


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## janyfarmer (Jun 19, 2013)

good work, interesting.What's the latest with the cooperative?


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## Bee Happy Keeper (Jun 8, 2015)

Personally I find it quite tragic what I see going on in Jamaica and what USAID is funding. Yuerba Buena Farm is run by Americans for Americans and having debt ridden paid interns pay them large sums of money to run their farm and rebuild their home as well as disenfranchise the local people and effectively unemploy the local population which desperately needs jobs. The owners received most of the boxes from the funding. None of this went to the local people. They drive an expensive Land Rover and have interns paying them to do their repairs and work. This is really a new level of math. I was asked to be involved and refused as I find this a horrific practice and is effectively keeping the population of Jamaicans enslaved to this concept of "Capitalism". Go to their website and see for yourself, it is mostly Americans invading their country to enslave the local people. How anyone would feel this is somehow a service is sadly mistaken. This sort of faux funding only benefits Americans and none of this went to the people who actually need it. It is a wonder that none of the local people also did not wish to be involved. They may be economically challenged but fat from stupid to the ploys of this kind. The owners are not Jamaican as they pose themselves to be but Americans from Vermont using USAID funding to s support their own selfish gains and using interns to do their work instead of pay a fair wage to a Jamaican. This is disgraceful.


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## MikeinCarolina (Mar 9, 2014)

It will be interesting to see where this leads.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

What would be interesting is to see if Bee Happy Keeper returns to share any documentation of his or her allegations. 

Must be some reason behind someone joining the forums today for the obvious purpose of resurrecting this old thread to share an unsubstantiated opinion. Legitimate concerns? Sour grapes over some slight? 

Just curious.

Wayne


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

I'm thinking that Bee Happy Keeper needs to share their real name with us as the OPer has. Easy to hide behind a screen and shoot arrows. Step up to the plate if you want us to take you seriously.


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## Bee Happy Keeper (Jun 8, 2015)

I live in Jamaica where internet is limited and in a rural area and have very little access. So sorry we just dont have all the things American are use to at their disposal. I dont share my full name as I see American's quite hostile to other views often about their country and not an open mind with also much racism in your country. I dont see anyone else sharing their real name anywhere as Barry or Wayne who just use first names, and Mike from Carolina. It also seems very few woman on your site, so forgive me if I feel intimidated. I am not sure what sort of documentation you require to post to this site. I didn't know this was a requirement to post. Again forgive me. I thought I might learn some things from your post and found this when searching for jamaica why they tardiness. This is just my opinion of what I have seen happen here for many years and maybe if you read and know any history of the island you might find what I say to be accurate. You might also ask any "real" Jamaican and I mean a Jamaican passport holder not American passport holder visiting here. "Life and Deb"t a good movie, might also help to see more of the reality of things here or also how the CIA was active in Jamaica in 1976 and was working through its own agents to destabilise the government for its own gain. We are also under siege by American policies that effect the local population that do nothing to help the rural poor. I just stated my opinion in regard to beekeeping as well. But it seems if one says anything regarding American policies or how they are practiced by Americans people become upset, to know or care of the realities on the ground, it seems to be met with hostility and disbelief. Sorry it took so long to reply. But I dont think this really seams to be open to these concepts so, thank you. I thought my opinion might be of some value or service but seems not to be the case. Mrs. Beatrice Williams.


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## Bee Happy Keeper (Jun 8, 2015)

Here is an advertisement to posted. I could not upload the file in pdf It was made by Mrs. Adams of Vermont who solicits interns to pay $1500 a month to work on their farm. Interns helped rebuild their home and also build bee boxes and do gardening. They could employ local people for 20 US dollars a day, who need theses jobs desperately. I have been to their so called farm which is really a vegetable garden. The funds for beekeeping went to their family alone. They are from Vermont not Jamaica. To me this does not seem right to import workers into our country when we desperately need jobs.

I work with Mr Peddy, the Apiculture Officer in Kingston, and some of his extension officers. The Adams are new to the practice of beekeeping. In my view, this is where funding would be most useful and administered impartially. Jamaican beekeepers are 40 and above and many in rural areas. Some may not read or write and most do not use email. However, they are astonishingly capable individuals with far more advanced knowledge. We work together as a team in development, not to serve self interested parties. These are long time beekeepers to be respected for their dedication and knowledge. This also then diminishes their role in the country without the support of technical data for beekeeping. Mr Peddy approved the volunteers but was not aware at all of Yuerba Buena practices, and never visited their facility. They have a new extension officer in St. Mary and there has been a transition since Mr. Willis retired his post. 

Additionally, I am certain you are aware, the difficulty of Jamaican farmers and beekeepers to obtain visa for travel due to economic status. Mr. Peddy hoped to bring young students to the U.S. for training. This would be the most helpful way of funding. But apparently it more attractive for U.S. volunteers to enjoy Jamaican beach side areas. The Adams family are US citizens from Vermont and have chosen to live in Jamaica and free to travel out freely. 
Please read their advertisement.

"We recommend a minimum stay of two months, and a maximum stay of one semester or the
full summer. We are a family farm, and cannot afford to support this project financially, so all
interns must contribute $1500 per month for housing, three meals a day, plenty of snacks and
more fruit than you can eat.
Please contact Agape Adams by email ([email protected]) or by phone (802)748-1941 for a
more detailed project plan or for an application. To see pictures of our farm, just Google “Yerba
Buena Jamaica”, and you will see links to us on Trip Advisor and Facebook.


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## Bee Happy Keeper (Jun 8, 2015)

JAMAICAN ORGANIC AGRICULTURE RESEARCH
PROJECT: ESSENTIAL OILS AND EXTRACTS
We have a family farm in a seaside town in one of the last undeveloped areas of Jamaica’s north
coast. Frustrated by the lack of organic farming information, support and products available to
Jamaican farmers, we decided to create pesticides based on the essential oils and extracts of
common Jamaican plants and trees.
Interns will help to grow and care for food plants in our garden. The essential oils that we
distill will be used on these plants and will be tested against nearby untreated control plots of
the same vegetable, recording all of our actions and the results. Our goal is to know which oil
or blend of oils effectively protects these vegetables. We’ve found that many local insecticidal
plants do not give essential oil when distilled; we will make alcohol extracts out of these plants
and test the extracts.
Resilience is a helpful quality to have in Jamaica, as things do not always work out as you plan,
and you need to be able to bounce back, adjust and try again without losing your enthusiasm.
Self-motivation is essential, as our normal life on our farm will demand our energy, and you
need to be able to work independently once given direction.
You will also participate in life on our farm as part of your 40 work week. Past interns have
gone to the bat cave to collect guano for fertilizer, built a charcoal and sand water filter, gone to
the nearby bamboo forest to collect bamboo for a natural building project, cut guinea grass with
a machete to cover the ground in the watermelon field, and gone to our hillside farms to gather
mango, jackfruit, jelly coconut and other fruits.
We will also do our best to introduce the interns to the town and the people who live here in an
informal way so that the interns can fully experience life in a rural Jamaican town.
Regular blog postings are required.
We are happy to work with any student who is interested in obtaining school credit for their
experience with us, and also with students who need to access funding through their school in
order to participate.
We recommend a minimum stay of two months, and a maximum stay of one semester or the
full summer. We are a family farm, and cannot afford to support this project financially, so all
interns must contribute $1500 per month for housing, three meals a day, plenty of snacks and
more fruit than you can eat.
Please contact Agape Adams by email ([email protected]) or by phone (802)748-1941 for a
more detailed project plan or for an application. To see pictures of our farm, just Google “Yerba
Buena Jamaica”, and you will see links to us on Trip Advisor and Facebook.
This link will bring you to a Google Maps view of our location:
http://www.google.com/mapmaker?gw=55&editids=Gw6CkbfiOV7dkfipbT&iwloc=0_0&t=h&dtab=overv
iew )
AGAPE ADAMS YERBA BUENA FARMS, STRAWBERRY FIELD, ROBINS BAY P.A., ST.
MARY, JAMAICA, WEST INDIES [email protected]
1218 Crepeault Hill Road, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819 (802) 748-1941


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

So are you really from Jamaica, because you put New York as your location.

It appears your gripe has more to do with social justice than with beekeeping. We have another forum where these types of discussions take place. Please read this post for more information about it as your posts may end up there.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?283-Enter-At-Your-Own-Risk!


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## Bee Happy Keeper (Jun 8, 2015)

i put this in the thread just for you at the bottom Today at 03:09 PM. Reason: I am in New York now visiting relatives for the suspicious minded
i am having trouble also with your website and all its complications or documentations you seem to require for posting. I did not know all these things were required to post. I am sorry. It is new to me. It all seems a bit to complicated for me. I just thought I might engage while here but it seems to be about something else. And more important to wonder if people are who they say they are. i dont know you either. But Good luck. I dont think I would continue with it it does not seem to be of much use. I am just a beekeeper in Jamaica. I didn't know I would be interrogated about every post and with such suspicious minded people. Beatrice Williams


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Here is an advertisement to posted. I could not upload the file in pdf It was made by Mrs. Adams of Vermont who solicits interns to pay $1500 a month to work on their farm. Interns helped rebuild their home and also build bee boxes and do gardening. They could employ local people for 20 US dollars a day, who need theses jobs desperately.

Somehow the financials don't turn out the same at all... if I can get people to pay ME $1500 a month to do my work then why would I pay someone $20 a day (i.e. $420 a month) to do the same work? And where would the difference in the cost/benefit come from? There is $1920 a month difference per worker between those two alternatives... The whole "social injustice" thing might fly if it was a difference of paying Jamacians to do the work vs paying Americans to do the same work.


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## MikeinCarolina (Mar 9, 2014)

Ms Williams. I think the moderator is trying to be fair minded about this. This section of the forum is for information about keeping bees. It could quickly become cluttered with political rancor as some other website forums I have visited have done - where it is little else but a soap box for folks trying to get one up on their supposed political adversaries. I for one like keeping this section about bees not politics and foreign policy.


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## buzzleblast (Jan 16, 2014)

I think part of the problem is you have formed an opinion of America and Americans, based on what you see and hear on TV, or interactions in NYC...

I can tell you, as one who has been all over the world in the US Navy, and subsequently living everywhere from Hawaii to Maine to currently Florida, the concept of "racism in the US" has been very misconstrued. I think you would be pleasantly surprised with how 99.9% of the nation gets along.

In other words, don't think we all fit into the preconceived notion you seem to have.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

No need get all paranoid and defensive about this. I asked the question because your post came out of the blue from someone who just joined and made very negative comments about something that a long-time member here had posted only positive comments, and, especially, since you gave no indication of any background information to support your comments. That's why I offered up the possibility of you having legitimate concerns, though I saw absolutely nothing in your post that supported this. I also did some admittedly minimal internet research looking for some alleged controversy re: this operation and found none.

Anyone can make any disparaging comments about anything without explanation and without documentation and should receive the same scrutiny as your initial post did. I have no interest in knowing your identity. I'm only interested in knowing if what I am reading has validity or is being merely stories being posted by someone with an axe to grind. And it has nothing to do with Americans getting upset when American policies are criticized. I've read enough posts in these forums by Americans who detest all or parts of our government or our President and post the most insulting and disgraceful things. 

I am interested in your views, as I believe, are many are that frequent these forums.

Wayne


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## Bee Happy Keeper (Jun 8, 2015)

Ok gentlemen, Well again your USAID policies directly affected beekeepers in Jamaica which is the point I tried to explain. These were not meant to be disparaging remarks but stating the effects of programs and how they are installed. No one in the St. Mary or Portland Parish of Jamaica benefited from this project or funding of this project meant for Jamaican bee keepers. It went to Americans alone. This was my point, we had hoped for a much different outcome but we had no say in it as it was run by Americans and American Beekeepers who came down and were the benefactors of the funding. I was an observer. Not one Jamaican beekeeper benefited with equipment which is much needed, and was supposedly the people to be set for. The people actually needing the funding and development. This was my point. Les Crowder and Sam Comfort received the funding, and the Adams family were the largest benefactors. They are all American citizens. Not one Jamaican person even received a hive box yet were asked to do work for free and make boxes that the Adams family kept all of them. People were upset by this. This was my point. Also the older beekeepers with much knowledge to offer the group were not invited to participate to offer a more deeper perspective on the conditions of beekeeping in Jamaica. We hoped we could get USAID to fund Jamaican beekeepers to travel out of the island to learn methods, this suggestion seemed out of the question for any funding. In all earnest the Beekeepers who came down learned more from Jamaican methods by going around the parishes to visit. My point also was to have an understanding of our country and how beekeeping is practiced here. This is also why many Jamaican do not wish to participate in these programs. I was trying to enlighten to people as to why this might be. Being economically challenged does not mean you have no knowledge of beekeeping as was how many were treated. There are wiser people in the bush keeping bees in trees and bamboo that can offer many things as to the behavior of our bees. We have many feral bees also mixed with the Apis Mellifera. These people were left out completely. We hoped to bring in some russian queens but this failed due to the worry of diseases. I would advocate for this to happen. certain areas as bamboo growing regions could use this breed to be more productive. It is too difficult to move boxes around for the smaller keepers they dont have this ability. Yes, I am in New York visiting relatives and buying equipment. I dont have internet access in Jamaica as most of us do not in my area, so I am taking advantage of it as best I can. I did not wish to turn anything into politics at all but it is forced upon us often and under the guise of being helpful when it is not. Thank you again.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

Thank you for sharing your perspective.

I do not see this as any more 'political' than any number of topics discussed here.

deknow


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## Bee Happy Keeper (Jun 8, 2015)

Hello Mike you must misread what was written. They did not PAY anyone. THEY WERE BEING PAID BY INTERNS THIS MONEY each month. They were receiving money from interns each month to rebuild their home and an apiary for themselves under the guise of teaching beekeeping. I didn't realize that stating a view point would be considered paranoid or defensive. You were questioning my name and identity in your messages and I responded to them and tried to provide from your request the documentation. It seems matters are being misconstrued on many counts as well as the math I explained. Are there any woman beekeepers in your forum? 

Soliciting students for payment to rebuild a home and apiary and business for themselves on the backs of what american say student are ridden with debt seems a bad practice for us in jamaica. It then un-employs are local population I find this a destabilizing economic effect on our communities and further to manuever around laws for self serving purposes and in my view should not be allowed and exposed for what it is doing and its effects. They are not a non-profit. Their aim is gain as much profit as possible from fee based labor. It seems American dont really understand these effects of this, so long as it serves their own aims. I think I have had said what I intended on the matter and I think this forum is not for me and not really on a world wide based view. I thank you kindly dear sir or madam "deknow" for your support. Good luck with your endeovors gentleman of beekeeping hopefully we can treat others as we wish to be treated in this world. Thanks again for allowing me to share. Mrs. Williams


Somehow the financials don't turn out the same at all... if I can get people to pay ME $1500 a month to do my work then why would I pay someone $20 a day (i.e. $420 a month) to do the same work? And where would the difference in the cost/benefit come from? There is $1920 a month difference per worker between those two alternatives... The whole "social injustice" thing might fly if it was a difference of paying Jamacians to do the work vs paying Americans to do the same work.
Michael Bush bushfarms.com/bees.htm "Everything works if you let it." ThePracticalBeekeeper.com 40y 200h 37yTF


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## Bee Happy Keeper (Jun 8, 2015)

Driving around in a new expensive Land Rover to cry poor and import fee based labor from debt ridden students in the USA to build a business in any country is something we would say is a scam. If you as Americans wish your tax dollars to be used this way, that is your concern. But we do not appreciate importing labor into our country to un-emply our own citizens and under the guise of being a non-profit organization no less, and again viewed by many as a scam. USAID policies suit an American agenda alone to be more plain. You have much social welfare for the wealthiest and tryinng to import this concept here.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Hello Mike you must misread what was written. They did not PAY anyone. THEY WERE BEING PAID BY INTERNS THIS MONEY each month. They were receiving money from interns each month to rebuild their home and an apiary for themselves under the guise of teaching beekeeping.

No I did not misread it. I understand. What I don't understand is why you think they should have, instead of being paid, pay someone to do the work, when someone is willing to pay them to be allowed to do the work. I certainly wasn't there, but where is the evidence of the "guise". Best I can tell, it looks to me like they WERE teaching beekeeping.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

Barry, the most suprising part of this thread is that you were not invited to jamacia to spread the kind of ignorance american s are famous for...you'd be a perfect fit.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Barry Digman said:


> Bwhahahahaha... [snipped] [/snipped]


Herein lies the reason most if us won't post their photo on this forum.

Wayne


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## Barry Digman (May 21, 2003)

My apologies to those offended.


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## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

Hi Guys

Looking at Tomas's photos, you'll see that more than just foreign interns are attending. Obviously they are locals. And yes, some of those look like they are Rastafarian. But it's hard to tell, as the Rasta look is often used by many who don't actually practice the religion.

I doubt much, if any money, was collected from them. Could Tomas and Yerba Farms have actually provided a free service?

Now, for a full disclosure.



I married a Jamaican 35 years ago. 
I have relatives that look just like those people in the photos. 
and, a decade ago, I've talked with those involved in the farm. 

With that exposure, I'm not surprised at Bee Happy Keeper's response. It's cultural and typical. I've coined it the 'barrel mentality' as expats were dutifully expected to ship barrels of stuff to the poor folks back home.

It creates a poor old disadvantaged victim us, versus an advantaged and obligated them mentality. It's unconsciously practised by many Jamaicans regardless of their education, economic or social status or need. Us has the right to reach into them's barrel. And heaven help them who won't open the lid! Them is going to get 'cursed out'.

I didn't understand it. Fell victim to it. And often got angry about it early in my married life. The more I tried to help, the worse things got. It's not unique to Jamaica. The massive aid failure in Haiti has much to do with the same sense of entitlement.

Today, I find it humorous. And so do my Jamaican friends who are honest enough to speak of it.

Don't be surprised at the farm's business model. They leverage their situation to provide an attractive/unique experience. Others find it attractive enough to invest their time and money to experience it. And hopefully, they leave happy. Not an uncommon business model in Jamaica.

Bee Happy Keeper, why not:



put together a business plan of your own. 
get a job as an expat and work a decade to fund it. 
write your own grant proposals to US Aid. 
take the time and energy to actually set it up and run it. 
carry the risk of failure. 
or reap the benefits of success. 

Hopefully, you'll be successful. Then you can set your own priorities. And won't have to be so concerned about what others do with their time and money.

Only one drawback, then you'll be one of them. And you'll catch much wrath from the rest of us.

-dm

Waiting for your call so I can put on a long face and empty my refrigerator before you arrive.


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

I’ve done three Farmer to Farmer assignments with this top bar hive beekeeping project, spending the month of July in Jamaica during the last three years. I sort of take these comments personally since I’ve invested a good amount of time with the project, know personally what it is all about, and have gotten to know the Adams well. Mrs. Williams (Bee Happy Keeper), you give your opinions, which you are entitled to do. Unfortunately, in my opinion, much of it is based on misinformation. Please don’t take any offense but I need to give my view point about this and make it more clear for everyone. 

This top bar hive project was started by Kwao and Agape Adams of Yerba Buena Farm, on the north coast of Jamaica in the parish of St. Mary. They were interested in starting beekeeping but saw the need for something different for Jamaica. What they were looking at were top bar hives, because bees are usually managed in a very natural manner and because it is such an economical system. The normal Langstroth hives and the equipment it requires can be too expensive for many Jamaicans.

They took it upon themselves to start the project so not only could they learn about using these hives, but all Jamaicans. The government apiculture officials were not actively promoting this as an alternative, even though they knew about this beekeeping system. The Adams discovered the Farmer to Farmer program run by Partners of the American and solicited a volunteer, which got accepted. I came as the first volunteer and others followed, including, among others, the likes of Les Crower, Sam Comfort, and Melanie Kirby. The project is now three years old.

Look at this overview of the project on the Yerba Buena Farm web site and article I wrote for the Farmer to Farmer blog.

http://yerbabuenafarmjamaica.com/bees/top-bar-beekeeping/

http://farmertofarmer.blogspot.com/2014/07/paving-way-to-natural-and-economical.html

Here are some other blog posts and articles related to this project.

http://farmertofarmer.blogspot.com/2014/01/beekeeping-in-jamaica.html

http://farmertofarmer.blogspot.com/2013/04/top-bar-beekeeping-in-jamaica-personal.html

http://farmertofarmer.blogspot.com/2013/08/survey-of-jamaican-beekeepers-reveals.html

http://farmertofarmer.blogspot.com/2012/08/top-bar-beekeeping-101-post-assignment.html

http://farmertofarmer.blogspot.com/2012/07/top-bar-beekeeping-101-sustainable.html

http://farmertofarmer.blogspot.com/2014/12/highlights-of-2014.html

http://farmertofarmer.blogspot.com/2014/09/happy-friday.html

http://www.southernoregonbeekeepers.org/beekeepers-corner/jamaica-beekeeping

Finally, here are some related articles from my personal blog, “Musings on Beekeeping.”

http://musingsonbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2014/12/musings-about-beekeeping-development.html

http://musingsonbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2014/07/paving-way-to-natural-and-economical.html

http://musingsonbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2014/07/musings-on-top-bar-hives-for.html

http://musingsonbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2014/12/musings-about-economical-beekeeping_23.html

While this post is quite long, I really feel the need to clear up and give my opinion about some of the statements that are made by Mrs. Williams (Bee Happy Keeper). She also was given the opportunity to air many of her own view points. They reflect on the project in a very unfair manner, in my opinion. I don’t like what I consider misinformation sitting here on the internet that could damage a project that has the best intentions in mind for Jamaican beekeepers and Jamaican beekeeping.

----------

Post 23--The owners are not Jamaican as they pose themselves to be but Americans from Vermont

Post 28-- The Adams family are US citizens from Vermont and have chosen to live in Jamaica and free to travel out freely. 


Kwao Adams, the owner of Yerba Buena Farm, is American—but he’s more Jamaican. His mother is from the United States but his father was 100 percent Jamaican. He passed on recently but I had the chance to know him. Jamaica is where Kwao was born and grew up and where he has spent most of his life. The farm is family land. Many of his relatives live in that same area in Jamaica. I’ve met some. He went to school in Highgate (St. Mary parish). His children are Jamaicans and are being raised in Jamaica. The island is basically all that the kids know. Agape Adams, his wife, on the other hand, is an American, but her heart is in Jamaica. They did live in Vermont for a number of years but decided to return to where Kwao grew up and wants to be—in Jamaica.

Kwao told me the story of his first experiences with bees as a boy--growing up in Jamaica. He went with some of his friends to rob out some bush bees. He wore a snorkeling mask to protect his eyes and they started something smoking. He showed me how they would make a smoker out of a piece of bamboo. They got all stung up anyways, he said.

----------

Post 23—“The owners received most of the boxes from the funding. None of this went to the local people.” 

Post 36—“No one in the St. Mary or Portland Parish of Jamaica benefited from this project or funding of this project meant for Jamaican bee keepers. It went to Americans alone. This was my point, we had hoped for a much different outcome but we had no say in it as it was run by Americans and American Beekeepers who came down and were the benefactors of the funding. I was an observer. Not one Jamaican beekeeper benefited with equipment which is much needed, and was supposedly the people to be set for. The people actually needing the funding and development. …Not one Jamaican person even received a hive.”


Like I mentioned in the beginning, the volunteers that have been helping out with this top bar hive beekeeping program are financed by Partner of the America’s Farmer to Farmer program, which receives funds from USAID. The funds are given by USAID but not directly controlled by them—that’s Partners of the Americas. The general purpose of the Farmer to Farmer program is for American experts to share their knowledge—in diverse areas of agricultural and in diverse countries. They give their technical knowledge and advice to the people and projects that solicit the help.

http://www.partners.net/partners/Overview2.asp

http://www.partners.net/images/partners/F2F/Partners_F2F_Infographic.pdf

Handing out hives and smokers was never part of this project. As far as I know this was never even considered. It is not even in the profile of what Farmer to Farmer is all about. The volunteer is financed through this program, not equipment. The idea in Jamaica is to teach the people what the top bar hive is, why it is a viable alternative for Jamaican beekeeping, how to make them, and how to use them. Volunteers also deal with topics that apply to all beekeepers like queen raising or elaborating products from wax. It’s like the old saying—Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat all his life.

The Farmer to Farmer volunteers are given a budget to buy materials for their training workshops. In the big picture, it’s not that much. In my case it went for some boards, nails, glue, wire screen, photocopies and paper/pencils. Things like that so I could effectively demonstrate building tbh boxes or pollen traps or wax foundation molds or whatever other topic I covered. Sometimes the bee farmers association was asked to provide wood. Other times I provided it through my budget. Everything we made during the workshop (tbh boxes, pollen traps, wax foundation molds) stayed with that group of beekeepers to be used in the group’s training apiary.

Again, the idea is to teach the beekeepers how to make or do it themselves, not just give it out free. That is one of the reasons top bar hives are needed—they can be very simple and inexpensive to make. I even had the chance to experiment a bit while in Jamaica with making them even cheaper by using materials such as the center rib of dried banana leaves, bamboo, and corn stalks. (See the post on my blog about alternative hive materials.) I don’t know where the idea came from that beekeepers would be given equipment (please let me know, Mrs. Williams). I always made that clear when explaining what the Farmer to Farmer program is all about. And as far as I know, the Adams also make that clear when planning the volunteers’ workshops/visits.

Mrs. Williams, you mentioned you are in New York visiting relatives but also buying equipment. You’re lucky you can do that. Like you mentioned, most Jamaicans don’t have that opportunity or can’t afford it. The usual alternative is to buy the equipment in Jamaica—but it’s expensive. You can basically get everything on the island that you need to do beekeeping but you pay a pretty penny for it—a penny that many Jamaican don’t have.

In many ways the beekeeping in Jamaica (and Honduras for that matter also, where I live) is not sustainable because the equipment is so expensive. For the poor man often the only way to get started is for someone to give you the hives and equipment. And then can you really afford to reinvest a good part of the earnings to expand? That’s hard to do when you need to put food on the table, pay for schooling and cover the costs of health care.

If equipment is the problem, maybe Mr. Peddy, the Jamaican government, and national beekeeping association should look for ways to subsidize equipment or import it and sell it without worrying about making a profit. Or workshops should be organized to teach people how to make their own equipment. Even low-interest loans may be the answer. Or they themselves need to play a much more active role in directly promoting an alternative like top bar hives. This would help give the beekeeping industry a boost. (Be careful, however, that these same people don’t have a vested interest in doing this because they themselves sell equipment or hives.)

----------

Post 23-- How anyone would feel this is somehow a service is sadly mistaken. This sort of faux funding only benefits Americans and none of this went to the people who actually need it. It is a wonder that none of the local people also did not wish to be involved.

Post 36-- No one in the St. Mary or Portland Parish of Jamaica benefited from this project or funding of this project meant for Jamaican bee keepers. It went to Americans alone.


Jamaicans definitely benefited from this—that can’t be denied. Lots of trainings were given with all the parish bee farmer associations. There were more than 1,800 attendees recorded at the workshops given by the Farmer to Farmer volunteers. Maybe it wasn’t the equipment you were hoping to receive but what better thing than knowledge. It is the only thing you will always have. I keep telling that to my students (I teach fifth and sixth graders). Your house can burn down, someone can steal the family car, you can lose your parents. One of the only thing you will always have in this world is the knowledge in your head.

Equipment can be given out but I’ve often seen that being a problem. Many times it’s wasted money. The person doesn’t use it correctly, it gets abandoned, it gets lost, it doesn’t end up in the hands of the neediest people. 

And actually, I don’t believe in just giving things away. It’s usually bad business. Some of the talk at the parish bee farmers meetings before my workshops was exactly about this—equipment/funds that were not getting into the hands of the members or being used. In some cases the equipment was already sitting in the group’s installations. Again, this project isn’t about giving free things.

----------

Post 28-- The Adams are new to the practice of beekeeping.

Post 38-- They were receiving money from interns each month to rebuild their home and an apiary for themselves under the guise of teaching beekeeping.


This project and the Adams’ personal apiary are focused on top bar hives. This is something very new for Jamaica. If there is now an expert on this in Jamaica, it has to be the Adams. They don’t tout themselves as being experts on Langstroth hives. (They don’t even tout themselves as being experts, period. That’s what I call them.).

The interns who come and want to learn beekeeping, do receive that experience. The Adams are now very well versed in tbhs and how they work. Some of the results—an American couple who came are now starting their own top bar hive apiary business, another student’s senior thesis about beekeeping development was based partially on her beekeeping experiences with the Adams, another enjoyed it so much that she came back during the following summer. 

----------

Post 23 The owners received most of the boxes from the funding.
Not one Jamaican person even received a hive box yet were asked to do work for free and make boxes that the Adams family kept all of them. People were upset by this. This was my point

Post 36-- This was my point, we had hoped for a much different outcome but we had no say in it as it was run by Americans and American Beekeepers who came down and were the benefactors of the funding. …This was my point. Les Crowder and Sam Comfort received the funding, and the Adams family were the largest benefactors. They are all American citizens.


If the Yerba Buena Farm has hives, it’s mainly because they invest their own money in materials to build them. As a volunteer, I was not there to build boxes for them or to buy them materials. I did have a budget for materials for my workshops. Any boxes or pollen traps or what not that we built was usually left with the bee farmer associations. Nothing was budgeted for buying equipment for Yerba Buena Farm.

What was given to the Adams by the volunteers was minimal. They are the coordinators of this project and they a very willing to open up their apiary to other Jamaicans who want to learn. The idea is that it is also a demonstration apiary of top bar hives. The local bee club of area children have their hives at the Adams’ farm. Other beekeeping groups and individuals have come there for training and see what top bar hives are all about.

For me, anything that was given to them (which, again, is minimal) comes around in helping promote this beekeeping alternative with the entire island. They kept the boxes I made with alternative materials and a couple pollen traps—because I know they will get used, shown to other beekeepers, or used by other Farmer to Farmer volunteers. They are very generous in letting the volunteers use their table saw and other tools—even for workshops for other Jamaicans. A lot of their own personal wax supply (which is very precious in Jamaica) was used during workshops.

Now, if the workshop and box building you mentioned was held at their farm, the Adams could have possibly bought the wood themselves for the boxes (and that is something they would do). They offer the opportunity for people to come there and learn, but they could be putting up the costs for the materials. In the end they can’t simply give the box away. The idea is to learn how to build tbhs and not just receive free equipment. Is this maybe what the case was?

Yerba Buena Farms does make money from this project because Partners of the Americas pays them for the room and board and transportation of the volunteer (and they earned every penny of it since they took very good care of me). But at the same time they spend a lot of their own time and money on coordinating these visits and the events. A lot of effort is put into this on their part.

As far as myself and the other Farmer to Farmer volunteers, everything with my trip gets funded, but I don’t make money off of this. I end up spending some of my own money. I would be better off financially if I just stayed home during my summer vacation. But no. I have no problem sharing my knowledge and enjoy giving training workshops. I consider my experiences with beekeeping in Honduras to be very useful to your people—both countries have similar economic problems and needs. 

I do learn from the Jamaican beekeepers but I like to think that I give just as much if not more back to them. The American volunteers that have gone to Jamaica are giving—giving knowledge that will last a life time.

----------

Post 36--Being economically challenged does not mean you have no knowledge of beekeeping as was how many were treated. There are wiser people in the bush keeping bees in trees and bamboo that can offer many things as to the behavior of our bees. We have many feral bees also mixed with the Apis Mellifera. These people were left out completely.


I agree with you. There is a great wealth of knowledge of bee management among Jamaicans. One needs to take advantage of these people and learn from them. This is where the directors of the bee farmer associations need to step in and schedule these people to give talks or workshops during the group’s regular meetings. Trips to see their bees need to be planned.

At the same time, however, there is more than one way to do something—especially in beekeeping. I always hear that if you ask seven beekeepers the same question, you get seven different answers. The Farmer to Farmer program is about an exchange of information, providing alternatives to see if something may work better for the beekeeper. Speaking for myself, I always try to take into consideration what the beekeepers may already know. I ask what experience they have had. I then offer my alternatives—some may value it, others may not. I never say that my way is the only way or best way. I always see the participants go home very happy and excited.

Every beekeeper has their own unique situation and needs to find what will work best for them. Those with 500 hives in many locations and those with a couple hives in a rustic box do things very differently—but there are merits to both systems. Knowledge is power.

All the workshops are coordinated through Yerba Buena Farm talking directly with the bee farmer associations. The associations decide what topics will be covered based on the skills each volunteer brings. They are offered the different options. They are also usually asked what future workshops they would like. In my case, several associations contacted the Adams at the last minute wanting to change from one topic to another after hearing from a member of a neighboring association who had just received the training. I had no problem with that—it’s what the association wants. 

It is then left in the hands of the association to contact the members and spread the word about the workshop. If someone was left out, the association probably didn’t do its job well enough (or maybe you didn’t realize the person simply couldn’t come).

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Post 28--Additionally, I am certain you are aware, the difficulty of Jamaican farmers and beekeepers to obtain visa for travel due to economic status. Mr. Peddy hoped to bring young students to the U.S. for training. This would be the most helpful way of funding. But apparently it more attractive for U.S. volunteers to enjoy Jamaican beach side areas.


This is true, you could learn a lot this way. I know that working several seasons with commercial beekeepers in Wisconsin was an eye opener for me. It put my Honduran beekeeping into a different perspective. 

However, is it more economically feasible to provide funding to bring one expert to Jamaica who travels around and gives trainings to a couple hundred Jamaicans or take maybe 15 or so Jamaican students to the United States for the same period of time? It’s a matter of the biggest bite for your buck. Taking students to the U.S. is not even part of the Farmer to Farmer program. 

Make sure you are not confusing the tbh project with something else Mr. Peddy may be trying to promote/coordinate with USAID. Also, as far as I know, Mr. Peddy is not even directly involved with the project—its coordination is through the Adams with Partners of the Americas. They started this because it was something the government apiculture unit was not offering. People from the Washington office of Partners have been to Jamaica (during my visit last July, in fact) and know exactly what the project and Yerba Buena Farm are all about.

I do have time to enjoy the beach (basically because the farm borders the ocean) and see Jamaica (because workshops are all over the island), but much more time is spent on preparing for the workshops and then giving them. And then there is also a good amount time spent on preparations before going and wrapping things up with paperwork after the trip. Volunteers do have their free time but it’s not a vacation. I put a lot of effort into my visits. I’m giving generously of my time.

Mrs. Williams, you don’t think these Jamaican students would enjoy the U.S. as much as an American would enjoy Jamaica? It goes both ways. In this case, it goes back to what is most cost effective. If the volunteer would be put up in a five-star resort like you see in Ocho Rios or Montego Bay, then I would complain. You can see the cabins the volunteers stay in if you look at the Yerba Buena Farm website—comfortable but nothing fancy at all. 

You know who treated me to a bit a luxury during my time in Jamaica—it was the members of the Hanover beekeeping cooperative during a two-day visit I had with them. One of the members had a very nice apartment behind their house where I was put up. It was the only time I actually slept with air conditioning in Jamaica. The next year when I had workshops with the Hanover beekeepers, I shared the bedroom of the local Peace Corps volunteer (Which was fine. Good enough for me. I was a Peace Corps volunteer myself.).

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Post 23-- Personally I find it quite tragic what I see going on in Jamaica and what USAID is funding. Yuerba Buena Farm is run by Americans for Americans and having debt ridden paid interns pay them large sums of money to run their farm and rebuild their home as well as disenfranchise the local people and effectively unemploy the local population which desperately needs jobs.

The owners are not Jamaican as they pose themselves to be but Americans from Vermont using USAID funding to s support their own selfish gains and using interns to do their work instead of pay a fair wage to a Jamaican. This is disgraceful.

Post 28-- Here is an advertisement to posted. I could not upload the file in pdf It was made by Mrs. Adams of Vermont who solicits interns to pay $1500 a month to work on their farm. Interns helped rebuild their home and also build bee boxes and do gardening. They could employ local people for 20 US dollars a day, who need theses jobs desperately.

Post 38-- Soliciting students for payment to rebuild a home and apiary and business for themselves on the backs of what american say student are ridden with debt seems a bad practice for us in jamaica. It then un-employs are local population I find this a destabilizing economic effect on our communities and further to manuever around laws for self serving purposes and in my view should not be allowed and exposed for what it is doing and its effects.

Post 39-- But we do not appreciate importing labor into our country to un-emply our own citizens and under the guise of being a non-profit organization no less, and again viewed by many as a scam. USAID policies suit an American agenda alone to be more plain.


The top bar hive project that Farmer to Farmer volunteers support has nothing to do with the American interns who come to the Yerba Buena Farm. Don’t mix the two together. They are separate projects. The tbh project is about Jamaicans and for Jamaicans. The Adams had the internship program/cabins for tourists before the top bar hive project even began.

As a Farmer to Farmer volunteer, I’m not there for the interns. Many are interested in learning about beekeeping but my priority is with the Jamaican beekeepers. The interns (and local Jamaicans also) are always welcomed to help out with the workshop preparations I do when at the farm. They are as much of a learning experience as the workshops. The interns can also always come to the workshops I give. I have no problem with that. In fact I like it because there is someone to help me out and I take advantage of that. I can always use an extra hand and a bit of willing help. But I’m there for the Jamaican beekeepers.

Now, as far as Yerba Buena’s program with interns, none are forced to come. Some are university students while others are not. I suspect that most of them are not taking out a loan to go to Jamaica. And if they do take out a loan, that’s their decision. They see enough value in the experience to do so. Again, none are forced to come. And as far as I know, none of them felt they were deceived.

Yerba Buena offers students the opportunity to come to Jamaica and learn about another culture and maybe combine it with some aspect of their university studies. As you can see on their website, they mention different possibilities, including beekeeping. Some of the interns combine their trip with maybe doing an independent study—something related to their major. Others just want the experience. 

They are not literally forced to work. The Adams plan activities for them (and with them). If they want to take part in it, fine. If they prefer to spend the day at the beach or in a hammock reading, fine also. In the end, it’s in the students’ hands if they really should be doing something for their independent study or not. The Adams are offering possibilities. It’s a service—a service the students need to pay for. The Adams can’t provide the room and board for someone who decides they prefer spending more time at the beach or doesn’t really want to get covered in ticks when going up to the hillside farms to get bananas (There is more to the farm than what you see by the house).

And the truth is that if there is any really major work, like cutting all the weeds in the banana groves, the Adams hire a local Jamaican. There is always someone full time in the kitchen and then others working part time, such as tutoring the children or doing other work around the property—all local Jamaicans. They get paid by the Adams with what they earn through the interns and other visitors.

And think of it this way also, all the money that comes into the Adams household through the interns goes right back into the Jamaican economy, often locally. The money doesn’t go into the pockets of the foreign owned cruise ships and resorts.

In some ways, the program for the students is a type of tourism, like many things are in Jamaica. The difference is that you choose not to arrive in a cruise ship or lock yourself inside a huge exclusive resort. It’s living with Jamaicans and learning about the people and appreciating the culture. It’s opening up your mind (and seeing some of the problems that you mention capitalism causes) by seeing your culture. If the students can combine it with some aspect of their university career, all the better for them.

That’s why the Adams initially built the cabins on the property—for tourists so they can make a living. They have decided to go more this route with students since it suits them better and the set up they have. There are many people that don’t want the fancy resorts. They want a cultural experience. Rural tourism/agricultural tourism/cultural tourism is becoming much more popular. All the interns that I have known have gone back very satisfied with their experience through the Adams. 

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Tom Hebert


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