Bring The Elephant Home and the Ruam Thai Beekeeping Group recently held a community meeting to establish goals and a shared vision for using native species beehive fences on the border of Kuiburi National Park. This locally-led initiative seeks to not only use bees to deter elephants, but also to earn alternative income through the sale of honey and bee colonies, increase biodiversity with the presence of native pollinators, and reduce the use of chemical sprays in agricultural areas.
Group members came together to help each other prepare their beehive boxes, build hive stands, and participate in a hive maintenance demonstration. Once everyone’s colonies are thriving, the group will meet again to build a beehive fence that is suited for this species, and collect data on the effectiveness of the fence in deterring elephants.
Big thank you to Save The Elephants – Elephants and Bees Project for funding this important work, and to KMUTT University’s Native Honeybee and Pollinator Research Centre for providing ongoing training and support to the community group.
