Pachamalai tribals, shareholders of Pachamalai Farmers Producers Company, have raised a honey orchard so as to tap the high demand for hill honey.
It has been set up on one-and-half acre of land at Methagam near Topsengattupatti. The company has hired the land from a private land holder.
In the first phase, the tribals have set up 25 beehives with an expert advise from Salem to produce honey in a hygienic manner. Each beehive produces about three litres of honey a month. The bee orchard has a capacity to produce 75 litres of honey a month.
“There is a great demand for Pachamalai hill honey. It sells out quickly. We have decided to focus on raising beehives,” says C. Chinnasamy, Chief Executive Officer, Pachamalai Farmers Producers Company.
Though honey is available for ₹ 400 a kg in the market, there are takers for Pachamalai honey for ₹ 1,500 a kg due to its quality. The company that markets the products of tribes offers one kg of Pachamalai honey at ₹ 900.
Mr. Chinnasamy said that most of tribals had good knowledge of bees and tapping honey from hives wired by bees on hill rocks. There were complaints on unhygienic practices while tapping honey. There was no room for such complaints while producing honey from beehive boxes.
The beehive venture was likely to fetch about ₹ 50,000 a month. The capacity would be doubled soon, he added.
