The Honey East core group offers training for “Basic sustainable beekeeping”, verified by the Adult Education Centre. The goal is for the trainees to acquire basic knowledge, skills and competences for the application of basic practices and techniques for sustainable beekeeping production.
Everyone who has interest and the desire to raise bees and apply biotechnical methods can apply for the training. The education programme, which lasts almost 4 months and is delivered on weekends (the classes are adapted according to weather conditions and the opportunities for practical training in an apiary), comprises 7 thematic modules with 110 classes in total. The theoretical part is organised in an equipped classroom in Kochani, while the practical part is carried out in an equipped apiary near Kochani, where the trainees have the opportunity to work and learn independently. The theoretical and practical content is delivered by expert and experienced trainers.
After the successful completion of the training, the participants receive a nationally recognized certificate for “Beekeeper with basic sustainable beekeeping knowledge”.
The modules in the programme were developed with the exchange of experience by Swiss and national experts as part of the Nature Conservation Programme (NCP) in North Macedonia, a project by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, coordinated by Farmahem. Additionally, through the NCP, the members of the Honey East Core Group participated in a three-year scientific-applicative research in cooperation with Aleksandar Uzunov from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food in Skopje, with the application and adaptation of biotechnical methods for Varroa destructor control in the summer period, as a substitute for the common use of synthetic chemicals; these methods have been incorporated in the education programme.
With this education programme and the application of the sustainable beekeeping concept, beekeepers will be able to produce safe and good quality bee products with particular care for nature, and create economic profits, which in turn would strengthen the development of rural areas.
The next training cycle will start in April 2021.