Summer has never been so sweet for the tribespeople of Wayanad. The massive blooming of wild flora aided by summer showers has led to a spike in wild honey production.
“We are expecting a bumper harvest this season as huge trees, locally called Thanni, Karimaruthu , and Venthekku , bloomed well this year,” K. Kullan, the chieftain of the Ponkuzhi Kattunayakka settlement, said.
The honey-harvest season is from April to September. Come April, tribespeople, chiefly the Kattunayakka (Thaen Kuruma) tribe, will start preparing for their treasure hunt deep in the forests.
The Honey Eco Development Committee (HEDC) at Muthanga, under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), alone collected 4,571 kg of wild honey from April 9 to June 12 this year as against the 2,016 kg collected during the entire season last year.
Four types of bees
“Four types of honeybees are found in the region, which include puttuthen ( Apis cerana ), kolthen or kombuthen ( Api florea ), malanthen ( Apis dorsata ), and cheruthen ( Trigona or sting-less bee). The tribesmen always get the major quantity of honey from the former three,” says P. Dhaneshkumar, Warden, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
“Apis florea , also called dwarf honeybee, and Apis dorsata make hives every year on the same tree, which the tribal people call honey tree. The kombuthen harvest lasts till July end but the puttuthen harvest will continue till the end of September,” he said.
Harvest season
Though the harvest season usually starts in April, the major quantity of honey will be harvested between June and July, K. Rajan, Muthanga HEDC secretary, says.
“The HEDC procures honey at ₹275 a kg from the tribespeople. It sells kombuthen at ₹600 a kg and puttuthen at ₹ 500 under the brand name Wild Gold,” A. Asalatha, assistant warden, said. “We are also providing bonus to the tribesmen after sale,” she added.
Apart from the HEDCs at Muthanga and Tholpetty, tribal cooperative societies at Kallur Pulpally and Appapara also procure wild honey from the tribespeople.
