Apiculture
Traditional methods of honey collection involve honeyhunting or making suitable nesting areas from local materials. Traditional honeyhunters are highly skilled and their activity has evolved over a long period to suit local resources and local bees. Throughout history and in all regions, beekeeping has been a specialized occupation of certain communities or families, remaining an Read more »
Water Resources
Our previous initiative on the Nilgiri Hill Water Resources had brought forth quite a few dimensions of water usage in the hills. The results have emboldened us to work towards understanding water systems better and we are now working in the Sigur area, working on the water management systems and implementation practices.
Land Development & Traditional Agriculture
Before the advent of the British, the indigenous people of the Nilgiris, especially the Irulas, who came up the slopes in search of wage labour, used to grow mixed crops on the hill slopes, practicing the technique of slash & burn. Even the Badagas, who were tillers of land, used to grow the same varieties Read more »
Beekeeping Apis cerana, the Indian Hive Bee, faces a host of threats today. Efforts to revive the bee from the Thai Sac Brood Virus (the larvae is killed at the brood stage). Beekeeping is not a traditional activity who usually collect honey from the wild. Bee boxes have been designed with different materials and dimensions Read more »
A Basket..
This programme area encompasses a huge swathe of activities that Keystone is directly involved in at the village level – it not only involves the resources that are available in and around the village but also the people who are a part of that system. – Apiculture – Honey hunting and Beekeeping – exploring the Read more »
Honeyhunting Traditional honey gathering is done by indigenous people of the Nilgiris. Work has been undertaken with the Kurumba and Irula communities to: Document their practices Provide training in better extraction methods Map the resources (bee populations) and monitor regularly Provide parameters for quality of honey and bees wax Provide a marketing support for the Read more »
Production Centre Development
The centres or village units are the limbs of the foundation, for here implementation and research go hand in hand. Each centre is locationally unique as they are to be found in different ecotypes reflecting our aspirations in those regions. Currently we have five centres including Semanarai, Banglapadigai, Kurumbadi, Pillur, Sigur and Dhimbham. For working Read more »
