The trainees beekeepers finished their theory training in March when they took delivery of their bees. Salem, their teacher had ordered the bees from a big honey company just south of Cairo and went to collect them. The collection date had had to be postponed due to the embargo on goods coming through the Suez tunnel, but they eventually got them at the end of March.

The new beekeepers have gardens over a wider range than before, with some beekeepers living about 10 miles out of St Katherine’s. Others who have gardens in the mountains brought camels to take away their bees in their hives. There are 10 new beekeepers this year so there should be plenty of honey in the future. Due to the lack of rain over the last 18 months so there are few herbs growing this spring, there has been a big concern over where the bees will get their nectar. Quite a lot comes from the gardens but the trees don’t have blossom all the season. We are hoping that the recent small rains will allow some herbs to grow soon. If this doesn’t happen the bees will become nomadic, and be moved from place to place following the flowers. The honey making starts in July.

Future Visits
The beekeepers are expecting to start making honey at the end of June and in July. Salem, the teacher, has bought 2 more large honey presses to extract the honey from the frames. Our next visit will be at the end of July and we will be able to assess the success of the training when we see the honey.

Funding
This project has been funded by two Trusts. The Eva Crane Trust has funded the project since it’s beginning in 2016 to the current time. The Didymus Trust has helped fund the training during 2017 to 2018. We are extremely grateful for the help we have received from these two trusts, without whom this project would not have taken place.