My colleague, Justus, attended a meeting of our beekeeping/savings group to understand the challenges they are facing in the field. I would’ve gone with him, but I was, at the time, face down in a coffee plantation bordering a piggery which is located, unfortunately, on a slippery hill. Slippery due to mud…or pig droppings? It’s dry season….different story.
Anyway, here is what basically came out of that meeting:
1. We have many hives colonized with bees, but don’t want to shift them into the apiary because we are afraid of the apiary manager.
2. We are afraid of the apiary manager because she locked Florence inside the office.
and
3. Hyenas are eating the honey.
Wait….what? Hyenas. Yes, hyenas are eating our honey. As if we needed another challenge. I assured Justus that he must mean dogs. He assured me that people heard the “laughing call” of the hyena. (As he began to demonstrate) I assured Justus that I had seen The Lion King. Post investiagation…there is one hyena in our upper apiary, WITHIN EVERYONE’s HOMES, and six hyenas disturbing our hives at the park boundary. Hyenas. I feel like Peace Corps is supposed to make handbooks on this kind of thing.
Mom said,
January 26, 2012 @ 2:02 am
…you had me at “face down in a coffee plantation”? Were you doing research or just Jack-n-Jill-ing down the hill??!! Can’t wait to hear Part II…