Experience eating bees in U Minh Ha Melaleuca forest

Existing for hundreds of years, the beekeeping profession in U Minh and Tran Van Thoi districts, Ca Mau province was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2020.

According to long-time local workers, the profession appeared in the second half of the 19th century – when people arrived in the land of U Minh to reclaim the land along the vast melaleuca forests. Foresters discovered the habit of honey bees only nesting in tree trunks that lean like house rafters. From there, they came up with a way to “build a house” to lure bees to come and exploit honey, which people loosely call bee-eating.

The house system for bees to nest includes two trees planted in the ground to create a tilt and a rafter placed above.

Artisan Tran Van Nhi, 64 years old, in Nguyen Phich commune, U Minh district, said the best place to make rafters is in an area with low cajuput trees with lots of flowers, with sunlight shining down. Bees produce the first batch of honey 15-20 days after arriving to nest. After that, it takes about 10-15 days to get the next batch of honey.

“U Minh Ha honey has two seasons: wet season (rainy season) from the end of May to August of the lunar calendar, dry season from October to March of the lunar calendar,” Mr. Nhi said.

Mr. Pham Duy Khanh, owner of an eco-tourism area in Tran Van Thoi district, said his family has been a keeper and honey exploiter for 20 years. When developing the eco-tourism model in 2015, he included beekeeping in the program so that visitors could experience beekeeping and collecting honey. The family’s primeval cajuput forest currently has about 1,000 bee hives. Depending on the conditions, each time there will be hundreds of hives with bees.

According to Mr. Khanh, in the U Minh Ha Melaleuca forest area, bee hives are often made quite large because there are many bees, the nests are up to 1-2 m in size. His tourist area once exploited a beehive more than 2 meters long, recognized by the Vietnam Records Organization as the largest beehive in Vietnam in 2021.

Coming to the eco-tourism area at U Minh Ha, guests will be able to go into the cajuput forests by canoe. Above is a vast melaleuca forest, underwater is a freshwater – brackish ecosystem with many types of fish and wild vegetables. Here, the forest owner arranges bee traps to exploit honey and let visitors experience bee eating.

When choosing a beehive to collect honey, the bee eater will give the customer a net to protect his face and tinder to smoke to repel the bees. People who approach the bee hive will observe how to smoke to repel the bees, revealing a bee hive full of honey. Honey collectors will use a small knife to cut part of the honeycomb, leaving a part so that the bees can continue to keep the nest to make honey. Visitors will enjoy honey and young bees still in cocoons right on the spot.

Participating in the bee eating experience in April, Ms. Le Thi Thuy Diem from Hau Giang said that it was the first time she saw and touched a large honey bee nest with her own eyes. When she went to collect honey, the guide shared details about how to make bets, the growth process of honey bees and how to distinguish between real and fake honey.

“The sweetness of Melaleuca forest honey and the rich taste of young bees give me an unforgettable feeling,” Ms. Diem said, saying that the activities at U Minh Melaleuca forest are very interesting.

In addition to the experience of eating bees, visitors to U Minh Ha can also immerse themselves in nature, spread nets to catch fish, and enjoy country specialties such as young bee salad, grilled snakehead fish, wild vegetable pancakes, and leafy eel. Noni.

Mr. Tran Hieu Hung, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ca Mau province, said that the profession of beekeeping is associated with exploiting and protecting melaleuca forests, is a traditional craft, rich in folk knowledge. local culture and create high economic value. The locality is continuing to mobilize people to work as beekeepers to both exploit and preserve the unique culture, which is also a unique tourism product of Ca Mau.

U Minh Ha Melaleuca forest is about 35,000 hectares wide, located in a number of communes in U Minh and Tran Van Thoi districts, adjacent to U Minh Thuong forest of Kien Giang province.

Ca Mau province belongs to the Mekong Delta, is the southernmost province of the country, more than 300 km from Ho Chi Minh City. From Ho Chi Minh City, there are many sleeper buses to Ca Mau every day or by plane.