Separated by thousands of miles - some in the sticky heat of Borneo in Indonesia, others in the chilling cold of the Urals in Russia - for centuries these men have shared a common heritage: the love of risk. With the honey trees where the wild bees hive standing at over 100’, harvesting the precious nectar is always a matter of life and death.
In the home of the Yaaku in Kenya, as in the home of the Lazes in Turkey, the climate has encouraged the growth of a dense and varied vegetation, offering ideal conditions for bees. But they are not the only beneficiaries: major predators, lovers of honey, are also numerous. Humans have had to adapt to the ingenuity of the many honey thieves to protect the nectar and sometimes even team up with certain predators in order to harvest it.
In Ethiopia and Mexico, bees, those indefatigable workers, give so much that they are the world leaders in the production of honey. In these countries, bees are much more than a simple symbol of fertility and abundance. They serve the faith and inspire respect and admiration…
Throughout the world, the bee, although highly resistant and able to adapt, is confronted with disturbing changes that have been observed for almost fifty years and have recently intensified. They are contributing to the weakening of this mythic insect. On territories as varied as the Aeolian islands of Italy or the north of Argentina, people are fighting a daily battle to protect the bee, whatever the cost.
Slovenia and France are both internationally recognized for the quality of their honey. However, their bond with the bee goes far beyond the simple nectar. In both countries, beekeepers are fighting daily to preserve the purity of the local species of bees, the Carniolian bee in Slovenia and the black bee in the Cevennes. For the locals, they are the guardians of a precious heritage.
In Nepal and India, gathering honey is a dangerous task, but it represents a precious resource for the villagers. In the two countries, every year when the migratory bee, Apis Dorsata, arrives in their lands, some chosen few set out to confront the void to harvest the bitter honey of this giant bee. Expeditions last several days and prayers to the spirits of the forests and the cliffs allow the proud elect to reduce the number of accidents caused by the stings of the Apis Dorsata, the most dangerous bees in the world.
For the Maori of New Zealand and the Bakas of Cameroon, bees are essential for the survival of the community. Among the Baka people, honey from wild bees provides the most accessible concentration of sugar for this people of hunter-gatherers, who still depend heavily upon the natural resources of the forest. In New Zealand, Maori beekeepers cover hundreds of thousands of hectares daily in order to care for their bees, which pollinate and conserve their sacred, community lands.