Bee-keeping it in the family

A top-of-the-south iwi is making beekeepers of its wha¯ nau as it looks to build a burgeoning honey business.

Te Ru¯ nanga o Nga¯ ti Kuia is running beekeeping courses near Pelorus Bridge, between Blenheim and Nelson, as part of its broader plan to teach members how to live and make money off the land.

The course had the added bonus of free honey for friends and family, as iwi wanted everyone to have access to the ‘‘luxury item’’.

Nga¯ ti Kuia general manager David Johnston said many of their wha¯ nau wanted to come home to live on their whenua, or land, develop it and take sustenance from it.

‘‘It wasn’t that long ago that Ma¯ ori were world leaders in commerce and trade.

‘‘Looking back in New Zealand history in 1839 honey bees were brought to New Zealand. By the 1860s bees’ nests in the bush were plentiful, and considerable quantities of honey were being sold by Ma¯ ori – the country’s first commercial beekeepers.’’

The course, run through nationwide agricultural training centre Taratahi, was in its second year, with students meeting fortnightly over nine months to gain their Bee Husbandry Level 3 Certificate in Apiculture.

Assistant tutor Lee Mason completed the course last year, when more than 330 kilograms of honey were produced by the students.

‘‘Honey is a luxury item, it’s like fillet steak,’’ Mason said. ‘‘Not every person can afford to have a jar of honey on their shelf, when they should.

‘‘We grew up with it, and then all of a sudden it became quite expensive.’’

They were giving honey as koha to family and close friends, but they were also selling it, Mason said.

‘‘As an iwi, we want to get set up as an ongoing bee business, but you need a lot of people on the ground and that means having the people trained to be able to be beekeepers.’’

Mason worked as a builder but was aiming to move into bees fulltime. He had been trying to learn bees from a book.

‘‘That didn’t really work,’’ he said.

But the course ‘‘completely opens up your mind’’, he said.

‘‘You start looking at trees differently and weeds and you don’t spray anymore.’’

The iwi and kaiako, or teacher, had created a positive learning environment allowing their skills to progress throughout the course, he said.

‘‘Which in turn, empowers our people.’’

Taratahi tutor Nigel Costley said Nga¯ ti Kuia’s land in the Marlborough Sounds lent itself to beekeeping.

‘‘The great thing is, most of them were complete beginners starting from scratch,’’ Costley said.

‘‘What they’ve gained is a whole season of hands-on beekeeping experience.’’

The course involved building a hive right up to harvesting the honey, he said.

One of last season’s students went on to work with a manuka business in Auckland, he said.

‘‘Most of them, initially, will just have a hive at home and build up their expertise and experience gradually.

‘‘It’s a qualification that’s recognised in the beekeeping industry.’’