Beekeeping hobby turns into advocacy for dad, son
What started as a hobby for a father-and-son tandem in Iloilo City has turned into an advocacy.
According to Jonji de Jesus, the father, it has been 15 years since the family embarked on honeybee farming.
Jonji did not expect that the simple keeping of Apis mellifera, or European honeybees, would lead him transmitting his knowhow through seminar, education drive, and training in various communities in Iloilo and the entire country on nurturing bees and invigorating the honeybee industry.
"It’s easy to buy the instruments, and all the necessary things but you need persistence and practice to do it because so many have tried, so many have failed,” Jonji de Jesus, beekeeper, said.
As of this writing, Jonji along with his son is into the artificial insemination of the queen bee.
“From hobby it pointed towards science,” Jonji added.
Meanwhile, Justine said he has taken inspiration from his father’s special interest in bees. He decided to join in the advocacy.
It is a mission of the family to create awareness on how “bee-utiful” these creatures are, hoping to put an end to the stigma that bees do nothing but attack and sting people. The two beekeepers said people must learn to respect bees more especially on their role in the ecosystem, or in the propagation of fruits and flowers.
“It [beekeeping] is helping the environment, being [of] good service to other people, and at the same time helping our local farmers. It’s a very good hobby and it eventually turned into a family business,” Justine said.
Aside from honey, bees produce wax used as an ingredient in the production of many products such as soap, lip balm, candles, among others.
