Manishaben Birar’s journey of indigenous beekeeping

Manishaben Birari lives in Jamlapada village in the densely forested, tribal district of Dangs, Gujarat. She learned beekeeping in 2015. Manishaben confesses being very sceptical initially, observing her fellow trainees from afar for 6 months before deciding to give it a go.
Today, with 4 beeboxes in her orchard and a 7 fold increase in jackfruit yields, she is a happy beekeeper. She is amazed at the jackfruits – from 5 fruits till 2015, to 35 in 2016, it erased her scepticism about bees’ importance in agriculture.