Beekeeping

We’ve been taking classes of agriculture every Saturday. We go to the local agriculture institute and are taught by the professors and students there from 8 am until about 1 pm. The first few times we covered different types of soil, basic details of some of the common vegetables and fruits found in farming sites across Peru, how to recycle some of the unneeded organics into compost piles, and pretty much a general overview of the dynamics that the Peruvian ecological system has to offer. Our last trip we got an introduction to cuye raising (overgrown guinea pigs known as a good source of protein) and to beekeeping, which is the number one business ran by Peace Corps volunteers in Peru. One of the professors gave us an up close demonstration of how to remove parts of the bee box and we were able to enjoy the taste of honey directly from the hive. Peru has a lot to offer in terms of beekeeping due to the weather and fauna here. China is actually the biggest exporter of honey, and sells it at an extremely low price, but Peru can still compete within the country due to the logistics of getting honey to some of the rural areas here. The US has lost about 60% of its bee population, and the number one reason that scientists have come up with is that cell phone signals are throwing off the bees communication signals.