Support Bees for Development this Christmas

apiarymanager Education & Training

Dear Beekeepers

It’s Christmas present time. But what about a present for the bees? They need all the help we can give just now. What’s more, your present could double in value! Read on…

Bees for Development Trust is taking part in this year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge. 5th – 9th December 2011.

For one week only, online donations to Bees for Development Trust’s Honey Bees in Africa project will be DOUBLED by the Big Give! Make an online donation during the week 5th-9th December 2011 and that donation could be worth twice as much.

Donate here!

Bees for Development Trust promotes simple, sustainable beekeeping, assisting people living in poor and remote areas of the world to produce honey and beeswax, conserve local biodiversity and keep bees healthy for the future.

What will the Honey Bees in Africa project do?

Sound advice is the best help for beekeepers in Africa to raise their incomes. Selling honey, beeswax, and products like candles and cosmetic creams can be a great earner for poor families – if they have the information they need to produce and market these products.

Bees in Africa are healthier than in most parts of the world. They produce high-value honey and other products as well as pollinating the food and cash crops that farming households depend on. But these advantages are not well understood and so honey bees are not appreciated, protected or used as much as they could be.

Bees for Development Trust will establish Centres of Excellence in African countries, building local skills in training, accreditation and research, and improving the advice available to beekeepers. Beekeepers know that bees depend on local forests and flowers for food, so they become excellent guardians of their local environment too.

But to make this happen we need to raise online donations between 5th and 9th December 2011. If we reach our target of £10,000 in time, the Big Give will double the value of all donations. With this we can make our project work and make a real difference to beekeepers and their families.

Can you help us? If you have ever considered helping Honey Bees in Africa, now is the time to do it.

Donate here from 10 a.m. on 5th December.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

To find out more about the work of Bees for Development visit http://www.beesfordevelopment.org.

To find out more about the Big Give Christmas Challenge visit http://www.thebiggive.org.uk.

A very Merry Christmas to you and your bees!

Elaine Spencer
Bees for Development Trust
Reg.Charity No.1077803
info@beesfordevelopment.org
http://www.beesfordevelopment.org

Thorne’s Online Sale Starts 21st November

apiarymanager Equipment

Bargains available from 9.00 am Monday 21st.

Visit the Thorne website.

Hive parts and frames, second quality timber

National super £13.50
National Roof 18.00
National Open Mesh Floor 13.50
National Brood 17.00
National Crownboard, no escapes 7.50
National 14″x12″ Brood 28.00
National Solid Floor 13.50
National Hive Stand 5.50
National Sloping Hive Stand 7.00
Commercial brood body 22.50
Commercial super 13.50
Langstroth Brood Body 17.00
Langstroth Super 13.50
Langstroth Jumbo Brood Body 28.00
Smith Brood Body 18.00
Smith Super 13.50
Dadant Brood Body 28.00
Dadant Super 13.50

Frames (in 50’s)

DN1/SN1 frames £26.00
DN4/SN4 frames 29.00
14″ x 12″ frames 42.00
BS Manley frames 37.00
DN5/SN5 37.00
Commercial Deep, Shallow, Manley 37.00
Langstroth Deep, Shallow, Manley 37.00
Dadant Shallow, Manley 37.00
Langs Jumbo, Dadant Deep 42.00

And:-

Miscellaneous

Frame Cleaner 1.50
500g 3/4″ Frame Nails 3.50
Bee Brush 2.75
S/S Frame Wire, 200g 5.00
S/S Frame Wire, 500g 10.00
500g assorted galvanised nails 1.00
Narrow Plastic Ends 3.25
Secateurs 1.00
Economy Hive Strap 1.75
Ratchet Hive Strap 3.50
Castellated Mouseguard 2.25
Ventilated Mouseguard 2.25
Wire Crimper 5.50
Wire Excluder grid 17″ sq 6.00
Wire excluder grid 18″ sq 6.00
Insulated Quilt, WBC, Langs or Smith 2.00
Basic Hive Tool 2.00
S/S Hive Tool 6.50
S/S Hive tool and frame lifter 6.50
Frame Grip 5.50
Liquid Bee Smoke 1.00
Stainless Smoker 13.50
Corner supports, set 4 50p
Porter Bee Escape 50p
Rhombus Bee Escape 1.50
Circular Bee Escape 1.00
Uncapping Fork 2.75
Uncapping Knife 5.00
Uncapping Roller 15.00
Nylon Valve 5.00
Occasional Jacket & Veil 5.00
Open Mesh Helmet 5.00
100 Plastic Mini Pots 3.00
S/Steel Dbl Strainer 13.50
Nylon Double Strainer 6.00
Conical Tap Strainer, S/S 10.00
Stainless Steel Valve 25.00
200kg Stainless Steel Tank 160.00
50 8oz plain PET jars 11.00
50 Cut comb containers and 4C (colour of your choice) 8.00
500 Cut comb containers and 4C (colour of your choice 65.00
Please note the occasional container may have a small hole or poor fitting lid. They should all be checked with water before use with honeycomb.

Rect 8oz Comb Cutter, S/S 10.00
10 Trio 50p
Local Honey sign 50p
A3 Local Honey for Sale Poster 50p
Plastic Queen Catcher 2.75
Queen Cage 25p
Plastic Press in Cage 25p
Clip Catcher 2.75
Butler Cage 1.20
Pollen Trap 5.50
Propolis Grid 2.00
Polish Tins, 10 2.00
AFB Test Kit. Expiry August 2011 2.00
Mahogany Observation Hive, Commercial. 2 deep frames, 1 shallow frame. No tube or feeder. £50.00
Frame Feeder 8.00
2.5litre Contact Feeder 2.00
Red Mason Bee Book 50p
DVD, An Introduction to Beekeeping with Paul Metcalfe (updated version released this month) 7.50
500g Yellow Paraffin wax 50p
500g Pillar Blend Soy wax (slightly pinky colour) 50p
Star shaped sequins 50p
Hanger cord or Yarn 50p
Assorted candle decorations 1.00
Belinda Bee 2.50
Coloured candle sheets, mixed colours £3.50 per 10.

That’s all folks!

Honey Labelling ‘Contains Pollen’

apiarymanager Honey Jars and Labels

The UK’s Food Standards Agency has written to leading industry figures to tell them what they need to do following the ruling in a German court (see story in Daily Mail 7th November).

Sandy Lawrie, head of the novel foods unit at the UK’s Food Standards Agency, wrote: ‘The Commission held meetings at the end of September with representatives from honey exporting countries and with EU stakeholders.

‘They confirmed that the implications of the ECJ ruling are clear in that: pollen is regarded as both a component of honey and an ingredient, as defined in food labelling legislation.

‘Honey should therefore be labelled with a list of ingredients.

‘If some or all of the pollen is from a GM source, it should be labelled accordingly unless it is exempt under the 0.9 per cent threshold.

‘This proportion is calculated in relation to the total pollen content of the product.

It is reported that the legislation may take a year to prepare.  It is unfortunate that the ruling arose because an amateur beekeeper took the State of Bavaria to court because he was unable to sell his honey because his bees foraged on experimental planting of GMO maize.

One wonders how the rest of the ingredients in honey will be described – ‘Sugars’?