Honey is an indispensable food in many people's lives. In addition to its irresistible sweetness, its rich nutrition is also the reason for its favor. Of course, honey and such as bird's nest are also divided into many grades, the higher the grade, means that all aspects are superior, but also means that the process of obtaining, but also more difficult.
In Nepal, there is a profession known as a "honey hunter", which, as the name suggests, uses honey as a source of income. It's just that they are exchanging their lives for this honey that is different from this.
This crescent-shaped piece, hanging on the wall, is the source of the delicious honey, the hive. However, collecting such honey has several challenges, and each challenge may take a fresh life at any time.
The first is the bees that guard the honey, the Giant Himalayan Bee. This bee is larger than other bees in size and has the title of one of the largest bees in the world.
Not only that, but at the same time as the bee needle is stabbed, the bee will inject a liquid from it, and the chemical components contained in it will produce a local or systemic reaction to the creature that is stung by the needle, and the pain and reaction caused by the needle prick of Jufeng is also more intense.
(Comparison of Himalayan giant peaks with other bees)
The second challenge is the location of the hive of the Himalayan giant peak. To escape the factors of external threats while being exposed to longer periods of daylight, hives are located on off-the-beaten-track, towering, and steep cliffs with an average height of up to 100 feet (30 meters).
Therefore, it is not easy to reach such a height, especially in such a deep mountain, facing such a pristine and dangerous place. Just to get to the destination, you need to climb mountains and mountains, and the rushing river can only be passed by thick bamboo cut down in the woods as a temporary bridge.
How to reach a height of tens of meters? In these villages, which lack a variety of modern equipment, the various plants that grow around them can be used.
One assignment for Honey Hunters is not one person, but the result of years of close collaboration between a multi-person team. Every time the honey collection is carried out from the preparation of the props to the implementation, it must be rigorous.
In order to reach the location of the hive, only a rope ladder made of various plants such as bamboo can be used to lower it from the top of the cliff where the hive is located to the ground, and then many people fix the rope ladder at the top to ensure the safety of the rope ladder.
(Rope ladder weighing dozens of pounds)
There are two steps that must be done before collecting honey. The first is the sacrifice, praying that this gathering trip will be smooth and safe.
(Scene of the sacrifice)
The second is to bundle together the collected wheat straw, weeds, leaves, etc. and light them to produce smoke. Sometimes people on the ground will also light these things, filling the whole environment with smoke.
One is the "honey hunter" that drives away the bees that surround the hive and makes the collection process smoother. The second is that under the cover of thick smoke, it can confuse the bees and reduce the number of times the bees attack themselves to protect the hive. Even so, the number of needles pierced by giant bees is as high as 20 to 40 times per collection.
The "honey hunter" climbs up a rope ladder to the height of a hive and then collects honey using two special tools. The first is a long bamboo pole with a cutting prop at the top, which is used to cut the hive.
The second is a bundled bamboo basket with a rope pulled by the members at the top to place the cut beehive.
Without any safety measures, the "honey hunter" can only rely on his body to cling to the rope ladder, and in the process also need to endure the pain of the giant bee needle prick, thick smoke, maintain the accuracy of the operation, and any mistake may fall off the rope ladder. A trip to the collection often lasts for several hours.
(View from above)
Over the years, many people have lost their lives because of this profession, so the honey here is exchanged for life. And what drives all this is money, life.
Due to the topography, many crops are difficult to cultivate, and the remote location makes it difficult to obtain things such as salt and oil that many people can easily obtain in their daily lives.
They can only earn higher incomes and sustain household expenses through honey that is higher than the market price and is more sought-after outside.
But now the "honey hunter" has been facing decline, the first reason is that with the development of the Internet, a new generation of children have begun to contact the internet world, they share all this to the rest of the world, what happens to them is the most ordinary thing that we dare not imagine.
They found that through the Internet, they can see the outside world and make money through better and faster ways, rather than hanging themselves at an altitude of tens of meters and whimpering at any time.
The second reason is that the Honey Hunter himself does not want his children to inherit the profession. Just like Maori, who has been living in Kulong Village, he followed his father on the same path since he was 15 years old when he assisted in a honey harvest.
(Māori in collecting honey)
Below is tens or even hundreds of meters high, difficult to see the land, above is the crazy attack of bees, Maori is in the position, is the size of the top beam.
The scenery in this location is very beautiful, it is like a fairyland on earth. But the bitterness in it can only be experienced by Maori or other "honey hunters".
However, Māori is getting old. "I'm tired and I don't want to do it anymore. The only reason I still do this is because I'm poor and no one else would do it. Maori's cloudy and bloodshot eyes revealed the soul of a weary man.
Younger generations no longer value this culture, and Māori does not want their children to follow the same path as themselves in the future. Because they now have the opportunity to study, get out of this mountain, and improve their lives.
Maori watched this culture that had been passed down for many years disappear little by little in front of his eyes, and there was inevitably a sense of loss in his heart, just like what he had done for so many years, and he saw the smoke: "Our culture is disappearing." ”
(Gross Profit)
As for the third reason, it is the influence of external factors. Because with the development of communication means, "honey hunters" have become the focus of many documentaries, more and more interviews about them appear in the eyes of more people, and some of the sightseeing routes that have been extended from them have opened up around their villages and places where they work.
The impact of this is that some outsiders with ulterior motives use more efficient and convenient means to collect honey hanging on the cliff, causing them to lose their competitiveness and lose the foundation of life.
"The Last Honey Hunter", what they call it today, is the situation they face today.
Although today, with the assistance of multiple groups, relevant organizations have been set up to protect local "honey hunters" to maintain their sustainable harvesting techniques. The organization also wants to find an effective way to regulate the harvest by issuing permits only to people with extensive knowledge and experience, limiting the number of hives harvested, and implementing a system of fines and penalties.
Its overall goal is to help local communities reap economic benefits from local resources while conserving bee species, thereby ensuring long-term pollination of crops and the maintenance of plant biodiversity.
However, due to the dangers of the work and various factors, perhaps this group, which is no longer mysterious, will become mysterious again in the near future.
That's because the "honey hunters" have already seen many of their relatives on the road to collecting honey. They are also reluctant to expose their children to such jobs. What they prefer to do is to use the rest of their lives to exchange the sweet food in their mouths for their children, and then watch the children and walk out of the mountains.