The honey man who says bees are just perfect
dubai — At just four years old, Admir Duranovic vividly remembers his first interaction with a bee.
“My father and grandfather were surrounded by them. They were buzzing above them, just centimetres from their heads, and I was fascinated by their wings, flapping frantically.”
Ever since then, 41-year-old Duranovic’s life has been devoted to the bee. And as a fourth generation beekeeper, it’s plain to see this is his passion, not his job.
“The bee is an insect that is so perfect. I have grown up with bees all my life and I’ve developed a love for them. For me it’s a lifestyle,” he tells me.
Dotted between juicing stations and traditional dress stalls, I find Duranovic in the Bosnia Pavillion at Global Village. And it is here that you’ll find a taste of Duranovic’s family history too.
With 120 years of beekeeping behind them and more than 1,000 hives to their name, their stall stands out. Not only for its bold display of exotic honeys, but for its debut introduction into a region (the Middle East), which is famed for this sticky, sweet treat. Brave, is a word I use to describe him, to which he laughs.
Front and centre of Duranovic’s stall is a collection of glass jars – all shapes and sizes filled with oozing organic honey. Neatly stacked on a wooden shelf designed to imitate the recognisable shape of a natural honeycomb, it is every sweet tooth’s dream.
From pine tree honey to nectar honeys, Duranovic says although Yemen may produce the “crème de la crème” of honeys, what his family offers is something completely different.
“You cannot compare honeys. The nature in Bosnia is so vast so our honey is very different. What we’re bringing to Global Village is a brand new honey to the region, but one we have been perfecting for 120 years.”
And when asked to divulge a need-to-know fact about bees, his passion for the distinct yellow and black insect once again rears its head.
“Without bees, there would be no life. The majority of food we eat is pollinated by bees, so no bees, no life. Also, and not many people know this, but bees never rest, they never sleep, their honey is a natural antibiotic and when it comes to their diet, they keep it very simple: they eat bee bread which is basically a fermented pollen. They are machines so I say ‘power to the bee’.