Bangladesh Blog Post #3 Beekeeping in Bangladesh by Katy Mulligan

This photo is Mohammed’s family, Alyssa, and I.

As part of the gender assessment of agricultural technologies, my co-worker, Alyssa, and I interviewed beekeepers in the city of Gazipur. We met with Mohammed Ali, a local agricultural extension agent and co-owner, with his wife, of a beekeeping business. This family showed infinite kindness and provided us with a home cooked lunch the two days we were at their house. The food was delicious albeit incredibly spicy and we ate on the floor with our hands.

We wanted to talk to Mohammed Ali in particular because he helps run the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation, which teaches people how to beekeep by using a Farmer Field School approach.

Different types of honey from the lychee, mustard, and coriander flowers.

We interviewed men and women beekeepers about their experiences beekeeping and selling honey. We asked them questions such as: Were you involved in the decision to become a beekeeper? Do you control the income from the sale of the product? Do you have access to the hives whenever you need them? And, what are the benefits of the beehives? We asked these questions to try to understand how men and women experience beekeeping differently. The interviews went more in depth about gender and labor roles related to beekeeping.

Mohammed’s wife showing us her beehives.