More Than Honey: How Beekeeping Is Building Sustainable Futures in Guatemala
World Bee Day is celebrated on May 20 as a reminder of the vital role that bees play in our ecosystems and food systems. But beyond being important pollinators, bees can also be the key to economic opportunities for communities. That’s what Pueblo a Pueblo is hoping to achieve through our sustainable livelihoods initiative: using beekeeping as a tool to help community members earn fair wages, in addition to highlighting the importance of bees in our ecosystem.
Pueblo a Pueblo’s honeybees hard at work
From curiosity to conservation
Hony, Pueblo a Pueblo’s sustainable livelihoods coordinator, has been working with bees for nearly a decade. Like many others, he got into beekeeping out of curiosity and to produce honey for himself. But over time, Hony has come to realize that bees are more than just honey producers - they are essential actors in ecosystem health.
“Bees are not synonymous with honey,” says Hony, echoing the words of his former teacher. “The bee is not only a honey producer, but an important living being that helps us.” By collecting pollen, Hony says, bees perform an important function in protecting ecosystems. This ultimately benefits us in multiple ways as well.
This belief is put into action through his work at Pueblo a Pueblo. Through the sustainable livelihoods initiative, Hony works to provide a fair source of income for local beekeepers while also conserving the environment.
To achieve this, the first step is to equip local beekeepers with training and expert knowledge to improve their processes. Next, Hony hopes to take advantage of the diverse products that bees create in addition to honey, which are often overlooked. These include beeswax, propolis (bee glue), and royal jelly, which can be further processed for human use.
Final products are sold through the Bee Strong store—an outlet created by Pueblo a Pueblo to ensure producers are paid fairly for their work. Receiving just payment allows beekeepers to continue their work, which in turn also benefits the environment.
“Perhaps [the beekeepers] aren't aware right now that their work goes far beyond just producing honey, but also goes towards supporting pollination and preserving the entire environment,” says Hony.
Celebrating all bees on World Bee Day
This year for World Bee Day, Pueblo a Pueblo is partnering with a stingless bee sanctuary, also known as a meliponario,, in the nearby town of San Lucas Tolimán.
Stingless bees make up the majority of the bee species native to Guatemala, including the local region. And such native bees are key to pollinating local plant species, having evolved alongside them.
Through this event, local schoolchildren will have a chance to interact with native stingless bees, learn about native species, and understand why all bees need to be protected. This is especially important as native bees are quickly becoming lost.
“Many native bees produce smaller amounts of honey but with much higher nutritional properties [than the common honeybee]”, explains Hony.
And then there are also solitary bees, which make up over 90% of bee species.
“These [solitary] bees, since they don't produce honey, aren't as well-known. But they are vital for biodiversity and ecosystem conservation because they pollinate a lot of plants that honeybees often can't.”
Raising awareness among future generations about the role that all bees play is key to protecting both pollinators and the ecosystems they sustain.
Building a Sustainable Future
World Bee Day is more than just a day to celebrate bees – it’s also about taking action.
At Pueblo a Pueblo, bee conservation goes hand in hand with economic justice. By training beekeepers, supporting fair trade through our Bee Strong store, and raising awareness in communities, we’re building a future where both people and pollinators thrive.
But we can’t do this work without you. Please consider supporting our initiatives by making a donation.
