There’s a fight raging in the mountainous regions of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. It’s a battle of ideas and priorities. On one side, you have honey poachers, outsiders looking to exploit the country’s sacred Himalayan cliff honey to make a quick buck. They’re not concerned about the damage they do as long as they can line their pockets before the honey runs out.
On the other side, you have Nepal’s traditional honey hunters, members of the Gurung ethnic group. They have a deep, abiding relationship with the region’s giant bees, and they understand, as they have for millennia, that traditional harvesting techniques allow the bees to thrive, ensuring an endless supply of this most special honey.
One side will inevitably win, and the continued existence of the Himalayan bees, their massive cliffside hives, and the precious honey contained within, hang in the balance.
What You Can Do to Help the Bees
The battle may be distant, but the tools you need to help are right at your fingertips. Here are a few steps you can take to make a difference.
Use Your Purchasing Power for Good
The best way to assist is to support mad honey brands that embrace conservation, those that honor the region’s traditional collection methods, and take the fight out into the field. Honey Nepal is one brand that’s on the front lines. We’re owned by a collective of Nepali honey hunters and beekeepers dedicated to preserving ancient mad honey harvesting methods, using our profits to build a sustainable market that benefits the Nepali.
For every jar of our Himalayan cliff honey you purchase, we’ll donate a dollar to the Honey Hunting Fund, an initiative created to support local tribe members and their families, giving them the resources they need to challenge poachers successfully. We’re also donating all of the proceeds from the sale of our exquisite pashmina shawls. These two products allow the rest of the world to vote with their wallets and support a sustainable, ethical mad honey trade.
Take to Social Media to Raise Awareness
Until relatively recently, hallucinogenic Himalayan cliff honey was virtually unknown in much of the world. That’s changing, but not fast enough. You can help by spreading awareness of this special honey and the plight of the bees that produce it.
Sharing a link to this article is a good start. Then educate yourself about mad honey, its effects, and the devoted hunters that pursue it. Share what you learn and start a conversation. Try Honey Nepal honey for yourself and post your experiences. Then add a link to our sales page. The more friends that purchase, the better prepared the Honey Hunting Fund will be to combat poachers and keep mad honey safe for the rest of us.
You may only be one person, but you’re one among many. If each person pitches in individually, the collective can make sweeping progress in the fight to build a sustainable, ethical, global marketplace that puts free trade ahead of profits and rolls its earnings back into the market.
Think of the bees. Think of the Nepali. Think for yourself.