In the Dominican Republic adulteration of honey is known to sell to buyers. They mix it with sugar and sell it in different establishments.

Since April 2015, the Michel Bizet Foundation produces pure honey from the biodiversity of the Samaná peninsula and extracts it from the honeycomb at the Bee Institute, an extraction room that they also have to control the quality of the substance before to expose it in the market.

Its owner is a French resident in the country for more than a decade, who explained that in the aforementioned institute trained Dominican beekeepers in the principles of beekeeping and bee care, feeding, maintenance of hives, pollen harvest and extraction of this very pure Dominican honey

“I’ve been beekeeping for five years. We have about 100 beehives in two apiaries that are in the foundation. Our honey is multifloral, which is that dark honey and of higher quality, we also have a flower, which is the clearest honey, but also of quality, “said Michel Bizet.

With that amount of hives, last year they managed to extract 650 kilos of honey in two extractions. The first in March and the second in April.

In photos the monitoring process of bees in an apiary from the hives of the Dominican Honey Produced In Las Terrenas Wins National Award

With the production of March, the foundation obtained the first place for “Honey Dark Amber”, in the national contest of honey that made the National Agricultural Fair this year.

The honey is elaborated in a wooded area in complete harmony with nature, and during the manufacture of the product do not use chemicals that can alter its quality. They try to do it in an artisanal way, which makes it an organic honey.

The product is sold in supermarkets, pharmacies and restaurants in Las Terrenas and several points in Santo Domingo. The gallon of honey costs RD $ 3,000 while the containers of 170, 350 and 505 grams are sold in RD $ 180.00, RD $ 350.00 and RD $ 450.00 respectively. The resources are destined to the expansion of honey production in that locality.

They also make and sell royal jelly, propolis and pollen, which are produced by bees.

Dominican Honey Produced In Las Terrenas Wins National Award and offers a source of employment

José Miguel Lora, a native of Las Terrenas, has been working at the foundation for a year to earn the livelihood of his two children, aged 9 and 7, and to secure the birth of a third child who is about to be born.

The 29-year-old only reached eighth grade, but he did a three-month course on beekeeping in Dajabón with a beekeeper who has 2,500 hives around the Masacre River. That allowed him to learn about the correct handling of the insect.

Now he is at the forefront of the entire honey production process at the foundation.

VIDEO OF HONEY EXTRACTION

“Every day I take an hour to get to work, before leaving the house I have already changed my biggest child and I have sent him to school. I arrive at eight in the morning and I am in charge of checking the bees, the production of the queens and the process of extracting honey, “he said.

He works with a 28-year-old Haitian, who has been working for the past two months with the two apiaries that the foundation owns. There he has found a source of income for himself and his family.

“I have my son and my mom. A part of the money I use to send them, another part to eat, buy clothes and wash, “says the Haitian.

Only two employees work on that farm. However, when they have to carry out the honey extraction process, three temporary workers are added. If production is large, the number of workers can amount to eight.

In pictures the steps for the extraction of honey