Tulum, Quintana Roo, (August 17, 2021).- With the participation of Maya women from the communities of Chanchen I and Cobá, as well as young nature lovers from Cancun and Playa del Carmen, the Sustainable Melipona Bee Management Workshop was inaugurated on Saturday, August 14th at Casa Itzamná, in Cobá, Quintana Roo.
The women of Maya origin stated that thanks to relatives and grandparents they got to know the Maya bee, the Melipona, which they call the ‘Xunan Cab’ or ‘Lady Bee’, and that they used it to treat different diseases of the bronchi, although they also used it as a healing agent and to prevent and remove fleshy eyes.
They showed great interest in knowing the proper way to work with stingless bees to achieve their proper reproduction and correct management. “I liked it a lot because I did not know some things that are necessary to make a new colony,” said Nilvia Dzib May. “I didn’t know anything, everything was new for me, I was struck when I tasted the pollen, I had never tried it,” said María Margeli Dzib May.
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“It is about recovering and updating their traditional knowledge, but also about incorporating new scientific and technical knowledge that will allow them to prosper in their purpose of producing bees and Melipona honey,” said Virgilio Gómez Morales, director of Casa Itzamná.
The course was inaugurated by Rodrigo Camín Cardín, director of minor species of the Secretariat for Agricultural, Rural, and Fisheries Development (Sedarpe), on behalf of the secretary Luis Alfonso Torres Llanes.
As it is an endangered species, Virgilio Gómez Morales talked about the importance of establishing certification of sustainable origin. The colonies of bees used for the development of any new project should demonstrate that they were raised sustainably. For this reason, he suggested to the representatives of the Sedarpe to consider the importance of taking care that the new interest in this species allows its rescue and does not accelerate its extinction.
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For his part, the undersecretary stressed that the state government has supported some institutional projects in universities such as Intercultural Maya and Technological, where the development of greater applied knowledge has also been sought to be able to accompany producers.
The state official recognized the work of Casa Itzamná, by training the guardians of the knowledge in the management of Melipona honey for health purposes, with which they are helped to resume the remedies that have worked for them for millennia and to improve their economy since the commercialization of the honey can represent some small additional income that could help the Maya people economy.
Casa Itzamná has two native bee Meliponaries with more than 10 years of research and care for native bees. Those interested in being part of the efforts to conserve the Melipona bee can join the projects that seek the bee’s return to the Maya jungle and support for Maya women, for which they can contact 9841436764.
Source: La jornada maya
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