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Friday, October 12, 2012

43%

I am at 43% of the amount I need raze to leave for the Central African Republic! I was excited to move the plane up 13% this month and a little farther out over the Atlantic. There is still a little more than half to go, but I have no doubt that God will provide it. I am still looking for people to partner with me, and support me through prayer, and one time or monthly gifts.

Monday, October 1, 2012

What some people are willing to do for honey

My experience with African bees has been extremely exciting and has kept me learning and excited about them for a long time. These bees are unlike any I have read or heard about before. They go against all the theories of beekeeping, and are an aggressive and inexplicable bunch. Books and long-time beekeepers say they should act one way, but these bees turn around and act another.
I have spent many hours with the bees in Congo, observing, and learned their habits. Between times of working these bees, I study, and research reasons for their actions in hopes that I can figure out how to get them to act like "normal bees". I am still baffled by habits, but have a few ideas that I think might help to train them a little better and calm them down.
Other places in Congo and surrounding countries raise bees just fine. In fact, the first place I saw an African raising bees was when I went with a Cameroonian man and saw him working a few of his 300 hives without any protection!
Where I will be in CAR is about 1/4 mile from Cameroon, and my hope is that the bees will not be as aggressive or stubborn as the ones I know from Congo. From some research I have done already it sounds like they are not as bad.
While surfing the web a few days ago, I ran across a picture on BBC.
The caption reads: A Bayaka tribesman climbs a 40m tree to reach the most sought after of jungle foods, honey
Would you climb a 40ft tree with nothing but a vine holding you to it, and no bee suit to get honey??? Think this this guy would like to learn about raising bees in a hive, and wearing a bee suit instead of just a pair of shorts?