Indigenous women fight climate crisis by saving bees in southern Mexico

indigenous women have adopted new agroecological techniques to fight against climate crisis and save the bees in the southeast Mexico, country with 2,000 species of these insects, 10% of the diversity in the world, according to researchers from the Colegio de la Frontera Sur (Ecosur).

Beekeepers from Chalchiuitán, in the state of Chiapas, have adopted agroecological techniques to maintain the family economy and care for the environment.

Although beekeeping has been deeply rooted for centuries in the indigenous communities of southern Mexico, new practices have captured the attention of the new generation of entrepreneurs, according to Apolonia Gómez López, a woman from the Tsotsil people of Chalchiuitán, told EFE.

“Bees are very important, they are medicinal, very productive, if we work well they generate income, the bees bring everything,” the indigenous woman said.

The honeys of biodiversity

Mexico has one in 10 species of bees known in the world and in Chiapas alone there are about 500 native ones, a quarter of the country’s diversity, according to researcher Remy Vandame, from Ecosur, told EFE.

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Government reports that in Chiapas there are 161,822 hives distributed among 4,778 beekeepers, and the majority are women who have taken the leadership and adopted sustainable measures such as new agricultural and production techniques, given the phenomenon of people who emigrate.

“My husband went to the United States, he left all his hives abandoned, I asked for help from Apo (Apolonia) and his sister, they taught me how to work bees, I have been there for two years. From six boxes I had today I have 15″, said Verónica Gómez Nuñez, a Tsotsil indigenous person from the ‘Campo Namtic’ school.

Verónica boasted of her achievement as a beekeeper and glimpsed amid the buzzing of bees the heritage she is building for her children.

“I have a 12-year-old son, I’m going to teach him how to blow smoke so he can help me.”said the woman.

A step against the environmental crisis

The researcher from the Colegio de la Frontera highlighted the work of beekeepers, but warned of challenges to overcome, such as the low price of the international market, a consequence of honey produced from China, among other factors.

He also warned of deforestation, the use of agrochemicals, population growth and insecurity in the state, where criminal groups steal or destroy beehives.

And he highlighted the climate crisis, since there are certain species of bees that are losing their distribution area.

In Chiapas alone, more than half of the territory is experiencing drought conditions, according to the Drought Monitor of the National Water Commission (Conagua), which warns that almost 60% Mexico has a moderate to severe degree of drought.

Given this panorama, the Ministry of Agriculture in Chiapas has been working in the field schools for four years to achieve a comprehensive strategy that helps reforestation and care of the bees to continue maintaining the quality of the product and the environment.

Chalchiuitán is three hours from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, capital of the state of Chiapas and is a municipality with just over 20,000 inhabitants classified as highly marginalized.

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