Vibis Natural Bee Farm - 33 varieties of honey and innovates plastic bees box

[editorialteam]

Produces 33 varieties of honey and innovates plastic bees box

Ms. Josephine Selvaraj started on exploratory journey to make a living from bee-keeping in 2006. Being a novice she learnt the basics of apiculture from Krishi Vigyan Kendra and started her agri-entreprenur venture Vibis Natural Bee Farm with just 10 bees-boxes (hives). Slowly and gradually she gained expertise and expanded her operations to 7000 hives, produces 33 varieties honey, innovation of plastic bees box, healing program for specific ailments through bee venom therapy and empowered hundreds of unemployed women and youth. She is based at Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

Cerana Indica is the breed of honey bees used for producing honey. Jamun, neem, drumstick, litchi, mono-flower and so on are the different varieties honey produced by Ms. Josephine. “In all 33 varieties, 23 types of honey are developed after value addition while rest 10 variants are mono flower honey. All these are rich in medicinal properties. Spices honey such as garlic, ginger, tulsi, cinnamon, amla etc are excellent in curing explicit sickness like cold, cough, knee pain etc,” she says. “The technology share on all the aspects of bee-farming is received from Krishi Vigyan Kendra be it value addition or honey processing.” All the products are sold under the brand name Vibis.

Speaking about honey value addition she explains, “We commenced value addition in 2010. In all dry-fruits and fruits based honey we put the pieces of the fruit itself. For example we add banana, mango and amla pieces in the raw honey to get the authentic flavour. Tulsi, ginger and garlic honey is prepared using distill water method. In few products we mix fine grounded powder in the raw honey to get the flavour for example best quality cinnamon powder is added in the honey processing machine to make cinnamon honey.” Jamun, drumstick, neem and litchi are most sought-after honey varieties. In value added variants tulsi, cinnamon and fig have good demand. “We get maximum orders for these honey varieties round the year.” Annually 75 thousand kg honey is produced at Vibis Natural Bee Farm.

Jamun honey is the specialty of the farm. “In 2 km area where it has 60% jamun trees, we keep the bees-boxes in the flowering season that is May-June. Honey bees collect the nectar of the flower and store in the boxes. Later we process it and make honey,” she gives an insight into the honey making procedure. Using the same process litchi, drumstick and neem honey varieties are produced. Honey is tested and certified by AgMark, ISO and Indian Food Certification. It is packed in eco-friendly bottles weighing 50 gm, 100gm, 250 gm, 500 gm and 1 kg sold at Rs. 30, Rs.50, Rs.120, Rs.200 and Rs.350 respectively.

Other important vertical of Vibis Natural Bee Farm is manufacturing and supplying bees-boxes. It began in 2007 with the order of 62 bees-boxes through National Horticulture Mission scheme (NHM). “It turned out to be consistent business expansion. Under the same scheme in 2009 we supplied the hives to 7 districts, 2010-13 districts and now we supply across Tamil Nadu since 2012. Till this date we supply bees-boxes through NHM,” she informs. Four different types bees-box are supplied to all the people interested in bee-keeping. ½ inch wooden box, 1 inch wooden box, plastic box and teak wood box sold at Rs. 1750, Rs. 2000, Rs. 2500, Rs. 3000 respectively. Yearly 10 thousand boxes are sold. All the boxes are sold with honeybees. “We are the first in the country to introduce plastic made bees-box. It is our innovation,” she claims with modest y.

Wooden bees-box has its own set of challenges such as termite issues, warps and rots in rainy season. “Consequently honey bees become very angry and sting the handler badly. Looking for the solution we experimented with plastic. It was successful and we were able to design and develop a plastic bees-box. It resolves all the problems faced in wooden boxes. We created a bees-box with plastic. Soon we shall patent our innovation - the plastic bees-box,” Ms. Josephine emphasizes.

Many tribal families residing in hilly villages of Oddanchathram, Malaiyur, Ellapara and Sirumalain are provided with employment while others are offered assistance to set up their own honey bee farms. Second Saturday every month in the farm premises free-of-cost Bee Venom Therapy is given to one and all. “It is an excellent cure for arthritis, any ligament tear and other illness. We give it for free because we want everyone to be happy with healthy body and happiness can neither be sold nor purchased!” she highlights and concludes, “Every house must have a bees-box as it flourishes family and professional life. It is the sweet nectar Mother Nature has gifted us that we must accept in our lives with lots of warmth.”

Contact details:
Vibis Natural Bee Farm
67, LKT Nagar, Kadachenenthel, MGR Colony, Alagar Kovil Road, Madurai-625107, Tamil Nadu
Phone: 09865555047, 09626165050, 09842055047
Email: ms.josephine@rediffmail.com
Web: http://vibisnaturalhoney.blogspot.in/ , http://www.facebook.com/thai.ruso

 

[greenlandfns]

Produces 33 varieties of honey and innovates plastic bees box

Ms. Josephine Selvaraj started on exploratory journey to make a living from bee-keeping in 2006. Being a novice she learnt the basics of apiculture from Krishi Vigyan Kendra and started her agri-entreprenur venture Vibis Natural Bee Farm with just 10 bees-boxes (hives). Slowly and gradually she gained expertise and expanded her operations to 7000 hives, produces 33 varieties honey, innovation of plastic bees box, healing program for specific ailments through bee venom therapy and empowered hundreds of unemployed women and youth. She is based at Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
View attachment 236
Cerana Indica is the breed of honey bees used for producing honey. Jamun, neem, drumstick, litchi, mono-flower and so on are the different varieties honey produced by Ms. Josephine. “In all 33 varieties, 23 types of honey are developed after value addition while rest 10 variants are mono flower honey. All these are rich in medicinal properties. Spices honey such as garlic, ginger, tulsi, cinnamon, amla etc are excellent in curing explicit sickness like cold, cough, knee pain etc,” she says. “The technology share on all the aspects of bee-farming is received from Krishi Vigyan Kendra be it value addition or honey processing.” All the products are sold under the brand name Vibis.

Speaking about honey value addition she explains, “We commenced value addition in 2010. In all dry-fruits and fruits based honey we put the pieces of the fruit itself. For example we add banana, mango and amla pieces in the raw honey to get the authentic flavour. Tulsi, ginger and garlic honey is prepared using distill water method. In few products we mix fine grounded powder in the raw honey to get the flavour for example best quality cinnamon powder is added in the honey processing machine to make cinnamon honey.” Jamun, drumstick, neem and litchi are most sought-after honey varieties. In value added variants tulsi, cinnamon and fig have good demand. “We get maximum orders for these honey varieties round the year.” Annually 75 thousand kg honey is produced at Vibis Natural Bee Farm.
View attachment 237
Jamun honey is the specialty of the farm. “In 2 km area where it has 60% jamun trees, we keep the bees-boxes in the flowering season that is May-June. Honey bees collect the nectar of the flower and store in the boxes. Later we process it and make honey,” she gives an insight into the honey making procedure. Using the same process litchi, drumstick and neem honey varieties are produced. Honey is tested and certified by AgMark, ISO and Indian Food Certification. It is packed in eco-friendly bottles weighing 50 gm, 100gm, 250 gm, 500 gm and 1 kg sold at Rs. 30, Rs.50, Rs.120, Rs.200 and Rs.350 respectively.

Other important vertical of Vibis Natural Bee Farm is manufacturing and supplying bees-boxes. It began in 2007 with the order of 62 bees-boxes through National Horticulture Mission scheme (NHM). “It turned out to be consistent business expansion. Under the same scheme in 2009 we supplied the hives to 7 districts, 2010-13 districts and now we supply across Tamil Nadu since 2012. Till this date we supply bees-boxes through NHM,” she informs. Four different types bees-box are supplied to all the people interested in bee-keeping. ½ inch wooden box, 1 inch wooden box, plastic box and teak wood box sold at Rs. 1750, Rs. 2000, Rs. 2500, Rs. 3000 respectively. Yearly 10 thousand boxes are sold. All the boxes are sold with honeybees. “We are the first in the country to introduce plastic made bees-box. It is our innovation,” she claims with modest y.
View attachment 238
Wooden bees-box has its own set of challenges such as termite issues, warps and rots in rainy season. “Consequently honey bees become very angry and sting the handler badly. Looking for the solution we experimented with plastic. It was successful and we were able to design and develop a plastic bees-box. It resolves all the problems faced in wooden boxes. We created a bees-box with plastic. Soon we shall patent our innovation - the plastic bees-box,” Ms. Josephine emphasizes.

Many tribal families residing in hilly villages of Oddanchathram, Malaiyur, Ellapara and Sirumalain are provided with employment while others are offered assistance to set up their own honey bee farms. Second Saturday every month in the farm premises free-of-cost Bee Venom Therapy is given to one and all. “It is an excellent cure for arthritis, any ligament tear and other illness. We give it for free because we want everyone to be happy with healthy body and happiness can neither be sold nor purchased!” she highlights and concludes, “Every house must have a bees-box as it flourishes family and professional life. It is the sweet nectar Mother Nature has gifted us that we must accept in our lives with lots of warmth.”

Contact details:
Vibis Natural Bee Farm
67, LKT Nagar, Kadachenenthel, MGR Colony, Alagar Kovil Road, Madurai-625107, Tamil Nadu
Phone: 09865555047, 09626165050, 09842055047
Email: ms.josephine@rediffmail.com
Web: http://vibisnaturalhoney.blogspot.in/ , http://www.facebook.com/thai.ruso

A great achievement in terms of honey varieties. But using Plastic honey bee boxes need to be re-analysed, considering the fact that even water in plastic bottles is not safe, as per recent scientific studies. So, you have to analyse the long term impact of honey boxes made from plastic on the intrinsic content/quality of the honey. Plastics-PE, PP, PS, PET, PVC, PU, HDPE, LDPE etc and all other forms of plastic containing highly toxic substances are affected by elements in nature-oxygen, hydrogen carbon etc and the reaction situation is visible too-just look a 1-5 year old plastic chair or PVC or PU footwear or kitchen wares or plumbing materials.
Please understand that plastic is a synthetic or semi synthetic organic compound that is malleable, mainly derived from petrochemical wastes-that itself is an organic carbon compound, and it can contain many other substances and in most cases evolve into many forms of organo-chlorine compounds through its manufacturing process as well as due to its exposure to normal elements of nature.
What is the guarantee that these toxins in the plastic you are using for honey boxes will not enter the honey which is collected in them? Even minute permeation of toxic elements from the plastic box walls into the honey can make the honey toxic and non-edible as honey is a very delicate liquid substance.
Of course, now there are plastics manufactured from renewable materials such as polylactic acid from corn or cellulosics from cotton linters. But, these are costly as of now and may not be adaptable to making low cost honey boxes. Inventions are good if they don't fall into the usual scientific trap situation-end of pipeline what is the end product. Majority of toxicity and pollution and related problems connected to scientific inventions is caused due to the lack of vision (or because of a tunnel vision) about the multiple impacts that a scientific process can lead to and at the end what remains in the lap of Mother Earth in the form of waste, smoke, deformities etc. A classic example is the paper and polyster yarn production process using chlorine still practiced in our country, and the huge amount of waste water pumped into rivers and streams which contain hundreds of varieties of toxic organo chlorines that kills all kind of life in the rivers and streams and cause inter generational health hazards to people living around these rivers and streams. Those scientists who invented/developed this process never bothered about what comes out of the end of the pipeline and not even bothered to analyse and understand what contains in the effluent that goes out mixed with waste organic matter from the raw materials and the chemicals including chlorine used for processing the raw materials, to make it into paper and polyster!! So, you may better have re-analysis concerning the use of plastic materials for making honey bee boxes.