Ane Vasilkov

Move the photo in all directions for a better view of the apiary.

I was born in 1995 in Kochani, where I live. I started beekeeping for the first time when I caught my first honey bee colony in 2015.

I found out about the beekeeping training organised by the Nature Conservation Programme (NCP) from a close friend who was already involved in beekeeping. I acquired new knowledge at the training, particularly about sustainable beekeeping practices, which helped me to increase the number of honey bee colonies and expand my apiary. I also attended an advanced training for young beekeepers through the NCP, which taught me how to produce other bee products apart from honey, such as propolis, bee bread, royal jelly, etc.

Currently I have one apiary in the village of Banja, where I sustainably produce meadow honey with the application of biotechnical methods.

Bees are insects of huge importance for people and nature, starting with the honey and beeswax they produce, as well as the pollination of plants. Bees are dependent on nature, and nature is dependent on bees, which means that if bees were to disappear from the Earth, then humanity would vanish too. That is why we should all make efforts to protect them and not cause damage.