Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Wade and I'm Ryan Gertzma. Spotlight uses a
special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter
where in the world they live. A man climbs on the rocky side of
a mountain. He holds on to a thin rope. He has covered his
head and shoulders with a cloth. The man raises a long stick with a
sharp point. He is a hunter, but he is not hunting an animal.
The man on the mountain side is hunting honey. This sweet food is
made by flying insects called bees. The bees fly all around the man.
If they sting him, it would be very painful. If he falls down
the mountain, he will most likely die. But if he succeeds, he
will bring valuable honey home. The honey hunter is taking a big risk.
Today's Spotlight is on honey hunters. If you walk through an area with many
plants, you may see and hear bees. These yellow and black insects fly
from flower to flower. They are collecting a liquid called nectar. The bees
take the nectar back to their home, called a bee hive. Bees make
their hives out of wax. The wax hive hangs down from a tree or
high rock and thousands of bees sit on it. All these bees were borne
in the hive. They live and eat there. The wax of the hive
has many holes in it. The bees put the nectar in these holes.
Soon the water evaporates from the nectar, leaving a thick liquid. This liquid
is light brown or yellow in color. It tastes very sweet. It is
honey. Bees make honey to eat as food, but many other animals like
to eat honey too, including people. People have used honey as food and
medicine for thousands of years. It is a special food. In many cultures.
People eat honey to help with sickness, such as a cough or throat
pain. In many cultures, people also put honey on their skin. It
keeps skin soft. Honey breaks down bad bacteria and helps to heal wounds.
But to use honey, people must first collect it. Some people take care
of a bee hive, but in some places people collect honey from wild bees.
This is common in many parts of the world, especially South Asia.
Honey hunting is a local tradition in southern India, but this traditional custom is
not easy. The bees in southern India are large. They can grow up
to the size of the smallest adult human finger, and these giant honey bees
build their hives on the sides of mountains. It takes many years for a
honey hunter to learn to collect honey from these hives. From a young age,
the honey hunter learns everything about bees. He practices climbing hundreds of meters
above the ground. Then the honey season arrives. The honey hunter prepares for
many days. He does not eat meat. He does not sleep with his
wife. He stays by himself. The honey hunter must be calm and full
of courage. The day of the honey hunt arrives early in the morning.
The villagers say prayers, and then the honey hunter goes to the edge of
the mountain. He climbs down with a rope made from small tree branches.
He lights some dry branches on fire. The smoke makes the bees leave the
hive. They fly around the honey hunter. He reaches a long sharp stick
over to the hive. He gently cuts off pieces of the wax filled with
honey. He takes them back to the village in a container made of bamboo.
When the honey hunter returns. The village celebrates the honey is important to
them for many reasons. Simone g works for the organization Slow Food International.
She writes about the importance of honey. Tribes have been honey hunting in this
way for generations. Rock paintings in the area show honey hunters more than two
thousand years ago. Honey was once a valuable resource in the trading system between
tribes. It still is an important part of their diet, cooking, and
medicine. The hunter takes some honey, but he always leaves some of the
hive on the mountain side. He does not take the part of the hive
with the baby bees in it. He does not want to destroy the home
of the bees. There are also areas of the mountain and forest that are
considered holy. These places are important for the religion of the tribe. The
hunters are careful not to take honey from the holy places, but this traditional
system may not be enough to protect the bees in the future. The forests
where the tribes live are changing. People are planting huge tea farms throughout the
area. They are spraying chemicals and cutting down trees. This is not good
for the plants and animals in the forest. It can kill the bees and
destroy their hives. It is also dangerous for the people who live there.
The Keystone Foundation is a local organization in southern India. It has worked with
the honey hunters for fifteen years. They aim to protect the environment and local
culture. Robert Leo works for the Keystone Foundation. He tells the organization Slow
Food International. In the past few years, we have seen many people coming
back to forest honey gathering, particularly young people. One of the reasons is
that it is now possible to make enough money this way. Many young people
in South India leave the tribal areas they can make more money working in the
city. But for the tribe to continue and grow, they must have young
people. So the honey hunters have made a few changes. They found ways
for young people to make money in the village. The tribe still uses traditional
tools and skills to harvest honey, but they have a new production center here.
They clean the honey, then they put it in bottles. This way
the tribe can sell their honey for a higher price. The Keystone Foundation also
helped set up some hives for people to keep. People can harvest honey from
these hives at any time of year. Then the honey hunters can make money
even when it is not the season for wild honey, they can continue their
traditions. This provides a future for the honey hunters and it protects the creatures
that make the valuable honey, the giant honey bees. The writer and producer
of this program was Rena dam. The voices you heard were from the United
States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You
can listen to this program again and read it on the internet at www dot
Radio English dot net. This program is called Honey Hunters. You can also
leave your comments on our website or you can email us at radio at Radio
English dot net. And you can find us on Facebook just search for Spotlight
Radio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye,