In February 2025 I was lucky to visit The Honnavar Beekeepers and Village Industries Co-operative Society Limited in Karnataka. It is a co-operative quality tested Society that promotes beekeeping and other Rural small scale industries in Honnavar taluk. They provide quality assured honey and other rural small scale industrial products to the customers at an affordable price and organise various trainings to encourage bee keepers with all support they may need.

The Founder of the Co- Operataive was the famous lawyer Shri S.K.Kollapuar. When Indian Freedom Movement was in highest peak, he initiated and took responsibility to promote rural industries in and around of Honnavar. His vision led to the birth of many societies and industries. Honnavar Bee Keepers and Village Industries Co-operative Society Limited started in the year 1941 with initial 125 members.

The main motto of the Society is to promote Apiculture, provide Training for the interested Bee Keepers and to supply the required equipments for Bee Keepers and farmers at an affordable price. Creating or producing tiny bees (Apis cerana indica) and selling it for profit are also the two main objectives of the society.

The members of the society are allowed to sell honey and wax. They purchase Bee Keepers’ honey at the market price. The society helps its members by providing raw packing materials and other required equipments at an affordable price.

After a tour around the processing plant, we were lucky enough to visit a farmer and his family, who showed us around his plantation, and his bees. It was a gorgeous day of cross pollination in all aspects 🐝