Extract describing method. Please note that the ambient temperature in
tropical countries is higher than in the UK, so need to compensate by
placing the harvest for example, in a shady corner in a boiler room.
Method One - 8 day floating Method
Þ Floating is the simplest method, but takes the longest
Þ There are disadvantages when harvesting in the rainy season when
humidity is high (high water content in the air).
Þ Honey is hygroscopic and will absorb water from the air unless you
work with closed containers
Procedure for 8 day floating method
1. Remove the wax capping with sharp knife or uncapping fork >save
cappings
2. Break harvested comb into small pieces
3. Place them in small container. Seal container to make it air tight.
Leave in a warm shady corner to separate - no direct heat or sunlight
4. After 7 days wax floats to the top > Skim off wax > save in separate
container
5. Strain / filter honey through a clean cloth, nylon stocking or
special honey filter
6. Close and leave to process further for another day
7. Skim off any foam & wax particles which have floated to the top
8. Filter again
9. Honey now ready for bottling > put into honey jars
10. Wax saved after 7 days should be soaked in water (to dissolve honey)
and can be used for a variety of purposes, to for example 1) Brew beer
where the wax is not first grade (i.e. dark comb), 2) Obtain beeswax if
the wax comb was first grade (i.e light or medium)
Equipment Required - All must be clean and kept clean
· 2 containers with tight fitting lids
· Container for wax cappings
· A sharp knife or uncapping fork
· Filter / Strainer for honey > clean cloth, nylon stocking or
special honey filter. The finest mesh size used commonly has holes of 0.1 -
0.2 mm diameter
· Skimmer > large spoon, leaf etc
· Honey jars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Agromisa Foundation (Dutch non profit making foundation). Agrodok Series
No. 32. Beekeeping in the Tropics
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pam Gregory" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Adebisi Data Adekunle" <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 3:29 PM
Subject: Re: [BEE-L] I need help in Malawi with honey extraction
> Hi Bisi
> This is much the same as we do - but we never harvest at night if it can
> be avoided. This was learned from those in Cameron who were trying to
> discourage the practise. I try to encourage people to harvest at either
> dawn or dusk - especially if here are only a few hives to harvest. Then
> people can easily see what they are doing and don't have problems with
> poor comb selection.
>
> I am becoming convinced that it is the temperature that is the key. It
> needs to be lower than 25C. In some places this means you can have quite a
> long harvesting (or working) period even in the day. Significantly, as
> long as you only buy low water content, clean honey and explain how people
> can achieve this, we have found that people manage to supply same very
> effectively (as you say regardless of hive type).
>
> If Bill is in Malawi he should have a talk to Lenson Simumba of NHPC
> (SBDARA) in Nkhata Bay (09 601 084) - who will be able to demonstrate the
> methods used. The straining method where you cut up all the combs in a
> bucket into a kind of soup and then strain it through a cloth is very easy
> and effective. Cheers Pam
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Adebisi Data Adekunle" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Cc: "Pam Gregory" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, August 02, 2008 1:10 PM
> Subject: Re: [BEE-L] I need help in Malawi with honey extraction
>
>
>> Hi Chris,
>> I usually advise a similar method to the one you describe below, called
>> the
>> 8 day float method. It requires only simple buckets and filters, little
>> sweaty hard work (pressing etc), foreign equipment (extractors etc) and
>> is
>> used quite successfully on our rural Nigerian projects.
>>
>> But I am afraid the first lesson is that honey quality management starts
>> right from the hive at comb harvest. Hive type really does not come into
>> it.
>>
>> Before we harvest
>> We harvest at night as well but we make sure we visit the hives sometime
>> BEFORE we harvest, IN THE DAY and IDENTIFY & MARK the brood comb/brood
>> area
>> or honey combs AND very importantly note the COMB QUALITY (dark, medium,
>> light). We mark the brood comb top bars (with chalk, charcol, stones,
>> whatever). Some people prefer to mark the actual combs they will harvest
>> instead of the brood area. We teach ONLY to take combs that are READY i.e
>> 75% SEALED ON BOTH SIDES. No unsealed cells or brood, EVER. This is a
>> hard
>> and fast rule which is re inforced after harvest. We then go back at
>> night
>> to harvest the honey combs.
>>
>> At the hive, at comb harvest, at night
>> 1. Take 75% sealed on both sides only
>> 2. Sort / grade wax combs for quality (light medium dark)
>> 3. As 75% sealed combs are removed / cut, they are placed the appropriate
>> bucket (light, medicum, dark). BUCKETS must all have tight fitting lids
>> for
>> transport, processing. Another hard and fast harvest rule to protect
>> against
>> contamination in transport etc.
>>
>> 4. Cleanliness is paramout. All equipment must be cleaned before etc.
>> etc.
>> No debris from harvesting should be thrown about the hive. We advise to
>> take
>> an extra bucket or bag to collect debris from harvesting.
>>
>> On a practical note, successful harvesting is about practice. We find
>> that
>> if people are clear what they are doing and why after a couple of
>> practice
>> runs they are able to harvest quietly at night without a lot of smoke and
>> banging about the hive and chucking debris everywhere about the hive.
>> When
>> the TBs are lifted the combs are usually covered with bees and this is
>> where
>> the panic ususally starts. It is very important to demonstrate and allow
>> peopole to practice the correct techniques under live conditions.
>>
>> First some bees can be gently tapped or shaken off as the bar is lifted,
>> then most bees can simply be brushed off with a brush of some sort and
>> the
>> remaining gently smoked off to reveal the honey comb underneath, which is
>> cut from the top bar (1'' or so) and comb placed in the appropriate
>> bucket
>> with lid. A white cloth(s) can also be used to give additional control,
>> by
>> placing it over the TBs as soon as the roof is removed and rolling it
>> back
>> to gain access to each TB. Until they are experienced, we get them to
>> harvest in twos only.
>>
>> To extract honey
>> - See 8 day float method attached. Section 1.2.1 on page 3. The notes are
>> an
>> extract notes from my tropical training manual.
>>
>> Regards
>> Bisi
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: [log in to unmask]
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 8:56 PM
>> Subject: Re: [BEE-L] I need help in Malawi with honey extraction
>>
>>
>> I run a top bar hive. The last time I took a crop I avoided the comb that
>> had been bred in as much as possible. The honey had set (UK ivy honey) so
>> I
>> put it in a bucket and bashed it so the cells were disrupted and placed
>> it
>> in my warming cabinet set at just over blood heat until it was melted.
>> This
>> was then poured through a strainer and was fit for bottling. There was a
>> lot of honey left in the wax so I put it into a strainer bag and thence
>> into
>> my Mother's (cleaned and sterilised!) spin drier, which got a lot more
>> out.
>> I would have used my fruit press but I had lent it to an apprentice and
>> forgotten which one.
>>
>> There was still some honey left in the wax so I chucked it into a batch
>> of
>> home brew beer I was making, allowing the action of water and yeast to
>> make
>> best use of the remaining honey so that none went to waste (although the
>> beer is going to waist!).
>>
>> I find that honey that has not been through a conventional extractor has
>> much more flavour and can be sold for a better price.
>>
>> Chris
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Bill Lord" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 1:45 AM
>> Subject: [BEE-L] I need help in Malawi with honey extraction
>>
>>
>> Bee-Liners;
>>
>> I am working on a short term job in Malawi (East Africa) with a very
>> beginning honey processing industry, The project here has sought to
>> teach
>> indigenous people to value forests and other natural resources by
>> introducing beekeeping and other skills that enable local people to use
>> the
>> forests as sustainable resources. To make a long a story short,
>> introduction of top bar beekeeping has worked, and they have in excess of
>> 50
>> tons of forest honey on hand. The big problem here is poor honey quality
>> coming from the beekeeper. The beekeepers harvest at night. Remember,
>> African bees, poor protective equipment and smokers, as well as
>> co-mingling
>> brood and pollen with honey combs). Now they 'extract' the honey by
>> pressing combs or by letting it drip through coarse cloth into a bucket,
>> with poor efficiency and some really dirty honey.We are stuck with using
>> top
>> bar hives for the time being. Before I came out I built a 'bush' honey
>> extractor - see
>> www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/september/honeyextractor.htm
>> out of a plastic 50 gallon food grade barrel, two bicycle wheels, a steel
>> rod drive shaft and some other common parts. You set the wheels on a
>> shaft
>> and let the wheels act as the extractor reel. I drove it with a 1/2
>> inch
>> drill and extracted 6 supers of honey last weekend. It worked like a
>> charm
>> until I wore out the cheap bearings, but I got 4 - 5 gallon buckets of
>> very
>> nice honey out of it.
>>
>> I am thinking what we might try here is a 'bush cappings spinner', to
>> wit:,
>> grind the honey combs from the top bar hives and spin the ground
>> wax/honey
>> mixture in a hand cranked cappings spinner. My thought is to enclose the
>> extractor basket in heavy wire mesh and slowly feed in the crushed comb
>> mixture to get even distribution. Can someone send me a photo of a
>> cappings
>> spinner so I can show these people? Any ideas on a simple grinder for
>> honey
>> combs? I thought of the old apple grinder and press I inherited from my
>> grandfather, but would like to spin the gound up mixture rather than
>> press
>> it.
>>
>> Any, and I mean ANY help or ideas appreciated
>>
>> Bill Lord
>> ususally of Louisburg, NC USA
>> courrently, Blantyre Malawi
>>
>> ****************************************************
>> * General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
>> * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm *
>> ****************************************************
>>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG.
> Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.5.9/1583 - Release Date: 31/07/2008
> 06:17
>
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.526 / Virus Database: 270.5.12/1589 - Release
> Date: 03/08/2008 13:00
>
>
****************************************************
* General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm *
****************************************************
|
