Archive · 2 Oct 2026
Himachal Collective Revives Traditional Beekeeping Through Women-Led Rural Livelihoods
Tenacious Bee Collective helps people and bees live and work together in Himachal Pradesh.
It began in 2018 when friends wanted to bring back older beekeeping traditions.
More than 250 farmers have learned ways to care for native bees without harming them.
Most of the trainees are women from rural areas.
Beekeepers take only some of the honey and leave enough for the bees to eat during winter.
Women also make candles, lip balms, salves, and other beeswax products.
Farmers are encouraged to grow herbs and plants that provide food for bees.
The collective pays beekeepers better prices and helps communities earn money in several ways.
Its goal is to protect nature while creating useful local jobs.
Tenacious Bee Collective, founded in 2018, is reviving traditional and ethical beekeeping in Himachal Pradesh.
More than 250 farmers, mostly rural women, have received training in native bee-friendly practices.
The collective works with over 45 beekeepers and pays participating producers up to three times the market price.
Beekeepers harvest only 20–30% of honey, leaving the remainder for bees’ winter sustenance.
Women also produce beeswax goods, while local herbs and bee-friendly plants create additional income opportunities.
- Who
- Tenacious Bee Collective, local beekeepers, farmers, and rural women.
- What
- A community-led effort to revive traditional, ethical, and native bee-friendly beekeeping while creating rural livelihoods.
- When
- The collective began in 2018; the article does not specify when the training figures were recorded.
- Where
- Badsar village in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, with work extending across the Himalayas.
- Why
- Pesticide-heavy agriculture, climate stress, falling honey prices, and the loss of traditional homes and practices have weakened beekeeping and bee populations.
- Founded
- 2018
- Farmers trained
- More than 250
- Beekeepers in network
- More than 45
- Honey harvested
- Only 20–30%, with the rest left for bees
- Women employees
- Six women are directly employed in honey and beeswax production
- Producer payments
- Participating beekeepers reportedly receive up to three times the market price
- Main products
- Honey, candles, lip balms, skin salves, and other beeswax products