Honey from Africa

I recently came across a charity called Hives Save Lives Africa (HSLA)which seeks to help people in developing countries to develop independence by providing them with beekeeping equipment and training. Traditional African honey production techniques are several hundred years behind western methods, which results in a honey with a smoky flavour (caused, they argue, but the excessive use of smoke in the harvesting process) that is difficult to sell on the world market and fetches a low price. HSLA argue that if they can provide African apiculturalists with the hardware and knowledge to produce top quality honey, they can increase income from bees and provide more independence.

I bought those arguments and donated some cash to HSLA. I then wondered what African honey would taste like, so I set out to find some in Waitrose. There I found a jar of Tropical Forest Honey, a fair-trade label with a different take on the African honey situation. Tropical Forest buy the honey from the traditional honey harvesters, smoky flavour and all. I tried it, and sure enough it does taste of smoke! The Tropical Forest view is that the smoky flavour is natural; not caused by harvesting – they put it down to the presence of pollens which the western pallet is not used to. They use this flavour as a unique selling point, claiming that it is enjoyed by true honey connoisseur. They argue that the traditional methods are better suited to the African situation, with lack of infrastructure and lack of capital making western-style honey production impractical and inappropriate.

So here are two opposing views of African development through honey production: the HSLA approach of giving hardware and knowledge to allow honey farmers to produce western style honey to compete on the open world market; and the Tropical Forest approach of buying the low quality product produced by traditional apiculture and trying to find a market for it in the west. The HSLA approach could be accused of forcing western style development on situations where it is not appropriate. The Tropical Forest approach could be accused of creating a dependency on a small market which will limit future development. Ultimately the judgement has to be which is the most effective at providing poor communities with an independent and reliable source of income.

Meanwhile the Tropical Forest honey jar languishes in my cupboard, half-finished, while I’ve gone through several kg of English and French honey and a several jars of - my favourite addition to yoghurt – acacia blossom honey from various countries. I can‘t see myself buying any more of the Tropical Forest honey in a hurry; but I’d love to know what the honey from the HSLA projects tastes like.