With a focus on recognizing women’s participation in beekeeping, the Honey and Bee Festival will be held from March 28 to 30 in the town of San Ignacio Tesip, Mérida.
Representatives from the Abeja Planet field school announced that for three days, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., various activities will be held to promote honey consumption and bee conservation.
“The important point of this event, the Honey and Bee Festival, will be to recognize women beekeepers. It’s definitely about giving them the place they’ve always had, but at this point, at this time, with the focus at Abeja Planet—as we discussed some time ago—feminizing beekeeping and meliponiculture in the state of Yucatán is one of our major objectives,” stated Nelia Ortiz Vázquez, director of Abeja Planet.
She recalled that Abeja Planet began as a project respecting nature, which now seeks to create a new generation of beekeepers and meliponiculturists.
“Abeja Planet is an interactive park, a park where you can encounter nature directly, you can ‘pet the bees’—we’re talking about melipona bees,” Nelia Ortiz explained.
One of the festival’s objectives is to combat the fear of bees, and for this reason, they also announced that they will soon launch a children’s school for boys and girls starting at age 6.
In addition, they aim to raise awareness about caring for the environment. There will be honey tastings, as well as tours of the school, its apiaries, and meliponaries.
Ortiz emphasized that the event is organized by civil society and environmental activists.
The invitation is open to the general public, with a special focus on beekeepers and meliponiculturists, as well as public officials responsible for environmental issues.
The organizer warned that bees face a difficult situation and honey production is threatened by counterfeiting; therefore, she called on the entire community to become informed and participate.
More than 15 exhibitors will be present at the event, selling products derived from beekeeping and meliponiculture, such as pure honey, wax figures, soaps, and more. In addition, various sporting and recreational activities will be held, as well as conferences and workshops.
Source: lajornadamaya
