BEEKEEPING - Learning and teaching
Interview with John Phipps, the editor of The Beekeepers Quarterly
part 4 (4 of 4)
9. What are your views to contemporary courses in global beekeeping? What would you emphasize?
J.P.
I think my main view is that I wish I had both the time and money to travel so
that I could attend such courses. There are so many interesting things going on
in beekeeping all round the world - wheter it be learning about rural
development issues in Vietnam, apitherapy courses in Cuba or Germany, or
instrumental insemination courses in the USA and even holostic and biodynamic
beekeeping course for those who want to keep bees in such a way. However, we
must realise, too, that essentially beekeeping tends to be an individual
activity with the beekeeper working in his own way and his interests and manner
of coping with bees needs to be respected. There is no one way in beekeeping and
everyone has to find what suits them the best. Obviously, travelling and
attending courses gives one the opportunity of not only learning new techniques,
but also of meeting many beekeepers with varying experiences - this has to be a
plus.
We are looking forward to being at the Apimondia Congress in Dublin, Ireland,
next August - this will be the first visit for us. My wife and I had made a
reservation for the Apimondia Congress in Yugoslavia, in Split. We even had our
hotels booked, but unfortunately, as you know, this was cancelled.
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An Italian apiary |
Keeping bees without wax foundations |
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Mating nucs
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A beekeeping auction where
beekeepers bid for the hives. These usually take place in spring. That year
(2004) each nuc was sold for nearly £70 as there was a shortage of bees. |
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| Norman Rice with his wife
One of the biggest queen breeders in Australia, He has written a book about his experiences in beekeeping called "Queensland". |
A Romanian apiary |
10. What is the future of beekeeping as you see it?
J.P.
Beekeeping seems to be controlled more and more now by legislation and I fear
that this will only increase. Whilst some measures are important to the craft or
industry others, like some of the labelling laws, for instance, are just
bureacracy gone mad. The spread of beekeeping pests throughout the world is
bound to continue too, unfortunately, either because of the selfishness, greed
or ignorance of other beekeepers, or just as a natural phenonema. Either way,
beekeepers will have to be more alert and be careful about how they treat their
bees, for purity of honey is something which should never be compromised on.
Of course, there is always going to be more and more to learn about bees as
science continues to expand its frontiers and this is going to be exciting.
Also, new ideas always emerge which help advance beekeeping and perhaps more use
will be made of apitherapy - honey is already achieving results where modern
antibiotics fail. Whilst rapid progress has been made in the craft over the last
century and a half I'm sure that technology will continue to have an enormous
positive effect on beekeeping. Yet despite all this, the beekeeper can look
after his stocks in the same manner as his forbears did thousands of years ago -
and the pleasure will never diminish.
Mr. Phipps, thank you very much for this conversation. I wish you success in your work with the new magazine, and I hope that you will be the guest of our web site again.
Thanks to Oliver Mihajlović for his help in translation
2004.
part 1 (editorial work, BKQ magazine)
part 2 (beekeeping in Greece)
part 3 (beekeeping in UK, working with children)
part 4 (contemporary courses in global beekeeping, the future of beekeeping)