Wednesday, May 18, 2016

When Treasures Meet

We simply love having guests at the farm, sharing knowledge and experiences with them. Yesterday, 18 May 2016 was no exception, what more when our guests were mostly prominent senior citizens who have made major contributions to the society and country.
Our special guest was Datin Munira Salinger and her husband, the honourable Yg Bbhg. Datuk Professor Hj. Rudin Salinger, her sisters and friends. We were in awe that at her age, Datin Munira had driven all the way to Lurah Bilut from Putrajaya, and amazed that she had reached the farm without much trouble.
We were so humbled and honoured with their presence at our very modest farm, but like everyone else, they seem to love tasting the honey taken straight from the sacs. When asked how he felt about the honey, Datuk Prof. Rudin answered, "Wonderful! Just wonderful!"
Both Datuk Prof. Rudin and Datin Munira are great cooks, love nature and eating alfresco. Datin had brought with her lots of homemade goodies in her picnic basket, and we all thoroughly enjoyed a hearty breakfast.
Thank you once again for coming, Datin Munira, and for all the good wishes. We hope to see all of you again next season.











Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The Faces to the Name

The Bilut Valley Bee Farm Team




Aniza, Aiman and Marzia


Marzia Mazlan, the co-owner of the company Trigona Gold Ventures which manages Bilut Valley Bee Farm is a graduate in Mass Communication. Typically, a young woman in her twenties like her who love fashion and cosmetics would opt for a glamourous career, what more in her field of studies. But her love for animals, nature and adventure reigned supreme and she surprised us when she chose  to work on the farm. She wasn't in the least bothered that she would get her skin dark or that she might get bitten by bugs. Snakes seen on the farm didn't deter her either, in fact she revelled in working in her straw hat and rubber boots.  

Marzia, which means the special one, lives up to her name.She is special in many ways, but the most evident is her ability to communicate with animals, her spontaneity and her sense of adventure. She is an expert in wet cupping, in which she would make light incisions on the skin and draw out blood using vacuum cups, and she has no qualms handling the blood in the cleaning process.

.Datin Aimi has been instrumental in the setting-up of Bilut Valley Bee Farm. She is also a co-owner of the company. We are so bleesed to have someone who believed in us when all we had was a dream. She is possibly the most benevolent person we have ever known; her sincerity and her positive outlook on people and life is simply inspirational. Her vivaciouness sets things in motion, and and she is loved by almost everyone who knows her.






Aiman has an engineering background and can be very creative and innovative. These traits are valuable in meliponiculture as this is a relatively new industry where trials and errors are still the name of the game. He manages the whole farm and his main concerns are primarily the well-being of the colonies, their hives and the toppings that are placed on top of the hives. This is the most crucial area and is not an easy task. He has become very knowledgeble in meliponiculture and he is mostly responsible for the almost 100% production rate achieved. His congeniality is such an asset to us, and we believe his new-found passion and commitment will take the company far. 




Mama loves to do everything on the farm - 
even sawing the logs.
Aniza had started to dream of her own bee farm when she learnt about the bees and their amazing behaviors at a seminar in 2010, organised by Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kelantan. An alternative medicine practitioner focussing on Islamic medicine, she prescribes honey as a remedy. But pure, raw honey is difficult to come by. Only between 10% to 20% of honey sold in the market is real honey - others are either adulterated or synthetic. With this in mind, she was determined to run her own farm, so she could be absolutely sure her patients are consuming the real stuff.





Equipped with an MBA and having worked overseas where she was in charge of multi-millon dollar projects, Fauziah brings invaluable knowledge on business and marketing.

Last but not least, there's Fauziah Shariif who has made quite a name for herself among the stingless beekeeper fraternity for her superb macro photography. But she has contributed much more than her images for Bilut Valley Bee Farm; her involvement can be said to be the main reason for the success we have achieved this far. Her invaluable knowledge and experience in Human Resource and Project Management has added a massive boost to our operations and production, besides her investment in the company.  She puts in a whole lot of work, time and effort  in her photogaphy, all in the name of education and knowledge. This gives her contentment and satisfaction. Fauziah, or Gee as she sometimes addresses herself, is a true gem.
 
Gee Shariff, Aniza and Marzia at the first Kelulut Expedition in Bukit Kor, Terengganu organised by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu



Monday, May 2, 2016

Magical Meliponine Honey

What makes meliponine honey possess such high medicinal and pharmaceutical properties?

FACT #1
Meliponines store their honey in honey pots made of propolis, a substance the bees produce from resin of selected trees and beeswax. Bee propolis is known to possess a high antioxidant content, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties.


The honey pots wrapped in propolis - a substance made of tree resin and beeswax.

In Islamic medicine, resin from trees is used as very potent medicines; three of the well-known ones being manna, frankincense (luban in Arabic) and myrrh (murr). They are resins from the trees Acacia senegal, Boswellia sacra and genus Commiphora respectively. These resins have been scientifically proven to have anti-cancer properties and a wide range of other medical benefits. Manna is said to be an excellent agent in repairing damaged kidneys.
Traces of propolis is present in raw, unfiltered meliponine honey thus multiplying the efficacy of this wonderful, amazing panacea.

FACT #2 
Meliponines are rather choosy in selecting flowers for their source of nectar, pollen and floral oils. Most of the flowers these bees choose to forage are edible, contain antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients which are so beneficial to our health and well-being. 






Biden pilosa flower

One of their favourites, Biden pilosa is widely used in Western traditional medicine as it is known to have antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal properties.
Plants, when eaten directly, will take a few hours before it is digested and the benefits ingested into our body. But when we consume honey made by bees which had foraged on these plants, we are able to absorb the benefits within minutes. 




Among the flowers which possess health and medical benefits to us and which are favoured by the meliponines:
Honolulu creeper (Antigonon leptosus)
Biden pilosa
Cosmos sulphureus
Turnera ulmifolia
Billy goat weed (Ageratum conyzoids)
Japanese Rose (Portulaca grandiflora)
Misai Kuching (Orthosiphon stamineus)
Thai Basil (Ocimum basilicumvar thyrsiflora)

FACT #3 
Fructose and glucose content in meliponine honey is almost nil or negligable (see diagram below). This makes this delicious substance very suitable for diabetics not only as a sweetener but as an aid in controlling blood sugar levels in diabetic type 2. Recent studies have shown that meliponine honey effectively stabilises blood sugar.   
Credit to Honeygold Laboratory - Stingless Bee Lab for shating this diagram.

 FACT #4
Meliponines, or stingless bees as they are commonly known, are smaller and slimmer, thus enabling them to reach deep into the nectarines to gather more nectar rich in vitamins and minerals. They then process the nectar using their saliva and enzymes in their stomachs to produce the honey which is loaded with goodness. It has been witnessed that the nectar is brought to the hive and is passed on from one bee to another. This action is believed to be part of the complex manufacturing process where all the phytonutrients are broken down thus is easily absorbed into our body.
Meliponines are lesser known than honeybees (apis) but they are actually better pollinators.

FACT #5
Meliponines pick more pollen than normal honeybees, and traces of it is also found in the honey, adding even more vitamins, minerals and amino acids. This is why meliponine honey looks a little turbid compared to normal honey which is very clear. This distinction enables us to differentiate pure honey from normal honey and synthetic meliponine honey to a certain extent.

She collects pollen and puts it on her legs, then flies home fo send the pollen to be processed as food for the worker bees. The processed, fermented pollen is known as beebread and it is also stored in a resinuous pot.


Sunday, April 24, 2016

BVBF Meets the Crown Prince of Pahang!

Saturday, April 23, 2015 was a momentous day for Bilut Valley Bee Farm. Thanks to Agrobank Malaysia, especially the Agrobank Raub branch, for selecting and giving us the golden opportunity to present our company, provide a concise explanation of our activities and to showcase our products to the Crown Prince of Pahang, His Royal Highness Tuanku Abdullah ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah.                
His Highness approaching
at our table.
This was at the launching of the programme of  “Penyuburan Budaya Masyarakat Perniagaan dan Keusahawan Pahang 2016” at Dewan Jubli, Raub. The event was held as one of the efforts to further encourage the people of Pahang to empower themselves economically through successful businesses, besides bringing the rakyat from the SME business fraternity in Pahang state closer to the Crown Prince. Among other things, His Highness had called upon all entrepreneurs to be bolder and take their business activities to greater levels. There are various Government departments and agencies that were set up specifically to support local businesses - big, small and anything in between - and they were present at the function yesterday. They include  MITI, SME Corp, Giatmara, TEKUN, Veterinary Department, cooperatives and of course Agrobank.

Our products on display.
Agrobank staff with Marzia.
Stopping at our booth, His Highness Tuanku Abdullah showed genuine and keen interest in meliponine honey and its rapidly growing industry. We were honoured and flattered when He looked impressed with our range of products and our packaging, and enquiring if we had  exported these overseas. We were so humbled that His Highness had decided to spend quite a few minutes at our table, asking pertinent questions and listening earnestly to the explanations presented by our spokesperson, Marzia Mazlan.

We were also delighted that Tuanku Abdullah, who is next in line to the throne of the Pahang Sultanate,  is very approachable and down-to-earth... so much so that our cheeky Lady Boss requested for a selfie with Him, to which He very sportingly obliged!

Daulat Tuanku!

Marzia with our products.

An Agrobank officer helping Marzia show-off posters and collages of the different spesis of  meliponines.
Marzia and her brother Aiman who manages the farm.

A spontaneous request by Marzia for a selfie with the Crown Price left everyone shocked to say the least!

Tuanku Abdullah signing in our Guest Book.

His Royal Highness taking a close look at our products and seemed impressed with our packaging.
Tuanku was genuinelyinterested in meliponine honey and its advantages over other honeys. 



We had met many people relevant and important to our business, including seen here Ir. Dr. Ahmad Ziad Sulaiman, an Associate Professor from Universiti Malaysia Pahang. 







Saturday, October 17, 2015

Menangani Masalah Perosak dan Pemangsa Dengan Ayat Quran

Penternak-penternak kelulut seperti kami sudah pastinya akan menghadapi masalah dengan pemangsa dan perosak seperti semut, cicak, kumbang dan sebagainya. Jika anda seperti kami, kami rasa berat hati untuk membunuh semut dan cuba mengelak dari membinasakan mereka. Tetapi apabila mereka datang satu koloni dan bersarang di dalam haif kelulut...aduhh...parah. Jika koloni kuat, mungkin kelulut boleh "counter attack" tetapi jika koloni lemah, mereka akan terus tinggalkan sarang dalam satu hari sahaja.

Nak sembur racun tak boleh...kelulut memang paling tak suka bahan kimia dan spray. Nak bubuh kapur ajaib takut juga, sudah tentu ada bahan-bahan kimia yang menjadikannya berkesan untuk menjauhkan semut. Kita pun tak mau makan madu dan beebread yang ada kesan-kesan bahan kimia. Kadang-kadang dah letak minyak hitam berkali-kali pun tak berkesan juga.

Jadi, ini adalah salah satu kaedah yang kami ingin berkongsi dan mungkin anda ingin mencubanya juga. Jika anda ada tanaman atau ternakan lain dan mengalami masalah yang sama turut boleh diamalkan. Malah jika ada jin yang mengganggu dalam rumah anda (manalah tau kan) maka boleh juga guna kaedah ini. Kaedah ini berdasarkan kepada perjanjian Nabi Sulaiman a.s. yang menguasai makhluk jin dan semua jenis binatang.

Askar-askar semut telah berkomunikasi dengan Nabi Sulaiman a.s.
Gambar oleh Fauziah Shariff
Tetapi, apabila menggunapakai ayat-ayat Al-Quran seperti juga untuk tujuan lain, hati kita kenalah yakin, yakin pada kuasa Allah swt dan yakin yang Ia akan mendengar dua'a-dua'a kita dan membantu kita dengan cara yang tidak perlu menganiayai atau membunuh makhlukNya.
Caranya seperti berikut:

Pergi ke tempat ternakan kelulut dan ucapkan kata-kata berikut dengan suara yang boleh didengar.

"Assalamu'alaikum
Wahai semut, cicak, kumbang, labah-labah, lalat, ular dan sebagainya (sebut dengan spesifik)...
Ingatlah perjanjianmu dengan Nabi Sulaiman a.s....
Pergi engkau dari sini dan jangan ganggu kelulut-kelulutku dan jangan bersarang dan bertandang di sini.

Jika engkau tidak mahu pergi, maka aku akan panggil
Nabi Sulaiman a.s. ke sini."

Kemudian baca Surah Saad ayat-ayat 35 (untuk gangguan jin baca hingga ayat 39)



Amalkan kaedah ini setiap hari, dengan izin dan kuasa Allah, akan selesai atau paling tidak berkuranglah masalah perosak dan pemangsa di kebun-kebun kita nanti. Inn syaa Allah.  


Kami amat berterima kasih kepada Tuan Tasbi Amit dari Brunei Darussalam kerana berkongsi tip yang amat berkesan untuk menangkap cicak pada log kelulut. Baru sebulan kami guna kaedah ini populasi cicak sudah pun berkurang. 



Ada juga terjumpa cengkerik dan kala jengking di kebun kami. 


Tebuan tanah yang mempunyai sengatan maut.
Gambar oleh Fauziah Shariff

Minyak bunga cengkih juga amat, amat berkesan
dengan izinNya untuk menangani serangan semut.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Bilut Valley Bee Farm Honey - Before It Reaches You (Part 2)

Honey is loved and consumed by people all over the world, as an alternative to sugar in their beverage and confectionery, as a condiment to their sweets and desserts, as a beauty aid, and for many, for their medicinal and healing properties.

As meliponine honey contains high amounts of antioxidants, in fact the highest for phenolic acid, it's almost a panacea for ailments and diseases, even chronic ones as proven by extensive clinical and medical reserach. As such, it is our fervent wish to offer a premium brand of organic, raw honey that is hygienically harvested, stored and packed.

Good Beekeeping Practices (GBP) are strictly adhered to. Unlike in the United States where they have established a standard known as Best Management Practices for Beekeeping, our GBP is not a standard regulated by any authority, simply because there is none in existence in Malaysia. We had created a reference for ourselves, one which we impose on ourselves.



No bare hands touching the insides of the toppings, please. We've seen enough of dirty fingernails of beekeepers in other bee farms. But the good side of seeing that, it had actually led us to be desirous of running our own farm.

The bottles of honey are quickly placed in a cooler bag. This is to avoid the heat from causing the honey to ferment which will make it frothy and taste rancid. Fermentation is inevitable when there is more than 18% moisture in the honey. Keeping the bottles in the cooler bag will reduce the process to the minimum during transportation from the farm to the clinic where the honey is bottled. 


The bag is secured and pests like ants are kept safely away. Keeping them in this bag also keeps the sunlight from damaging the delicate honey. We want to be sure that the honey stays in it's raw form as closely as possible to ensure all the enzymes are kept intact.

For storage purposes, we use new, cleaned and sterlised bottles. They are prepared the same way as the bottles that are used for packaging which we had shown on Part 1 of this post. Call us snooty if you want but as we said earlier, we won't compromise on hygiene so we do not want to use recycled containers for this purpose. It has been known that some honey samples taken for an analysis had shown traces of foreign and hazardous matter such as lead, and it was suspected that the source was the storage container.


New, clean and fresh bottles for storing our honey that you take home.



Tools used to harvest the honey as well as those used in our meliponiculturing and beescaping activities are washed and sterilised regularly with a cleaning agent and an antiseptic. We choose Melamagic and  Soluguard by The Melaleuca Company for these purposes as they are organic. This is one of the important procedures required under our own GBP
It is a seemingly simple procedure but it can prevent the hives, toppings, plants and the whole farm in general from being infested by fungus, parasites, and all other organisms that may destroy the bees, the brood cells or the plants. If this happens, God forbid, it will be nothing less than a devastation. This is one of the many valuable lessons learnt at the Beescape Workshop.
  

Once the honey is brought back from the farm, it is kept in a chiller for not less than 48 hours before it is packed in amber botlles. When they reach our consumers, they are to be kept in refrigeration or in a cool place.

There is no heating or dehydration process using heat as this may destroy precious enzymes in the honey. This is the true definition of raw, unfiltered honey. This is the honey we want you to experience and enjoy.



  
 




Saturday, August 15, 2015

Identifying Species of Meliponines - Why It's Crucial

Last month we wrote about Beescape and the importance of this element in meliponiculture. This time, our post is focussed on the need for a meliponiculturist to be able to identify the different species of meliponines. Different species have different behaviours and different needs to survive and flourish, so it is of utmost importance to know the types of bees we are culturing.

To be really successful in meliponiculture, a serious meliponiculturist needs to be widely knowledgeble about the subject and everything related to it. In order to make the honey industry in Malaysia sustain in the long term and to achieve global acceptance of our products, we should aim to be real professionals in this field.

Without having the relevant knowledge, it would be impossible to maintain a consistent supply of good quality honey. Worse yet, mismanagement and poor management of meliponines will result in a decline in their population, not only reducing the production of honey but upsetting the very ecosystem that we survive on.

Many colonies, perhaps in the thousands by now, have been destroyed because people were ignorant about the species they were culturing and the types of trees and resins that are required by them. The species from the genus Tetrigona for example, have a unique hive building system, in that they require resin from Dipterocarp trees. The entrances, honey pots and pillars are hard and brittle, thus they are dubbed the crystal species. Many colonies of this genus have been removed from their natural habitat and carelessly an ignorantly cultured in a location void of any source of resin, resulting in the meliponines being forced to find alternative sources, failing which the colony will just collapse.





To love your bees is to know them.