KUCHING: Six years after venturing into the kelulut (stingless honey bee) honey farming business with his family, Mohamad Aluis Hamri is reaping the fruits of his labour.
Aluis, a qualified engineer with his own construction company, ventured into the business in 2014, after having observed these unique insects and their active lifestyle in structured colonies.
He started out with two hives, which he obtained from the mangrove swamp forest in Sematan. His parents allowed him to make use of a piece of family land in the southernmost district of Sarawak to start an agro farm for these stingless bees.
“By 2015, I expanded the number of hives to 40. In 2016, I increased the number of hives to 160 and in 2017, to 180. Now, I have 220 hives,” he said at his Niranur Agro Farm in Sematan, 105km from here.
In tandem with the growth of the hives, he was able to raise his production of kelulut honey as well, from about 50kg a month to about 100kg now.
“Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah), the initial income of RM8,000 per month has risen to RM12,000 now.”
He said utmost care must be taken because the kelulut, due to their tiny size and stingless nature, were often victims of bigger bees and hornets.
“The trick is to place some belacan (shrimp paste) near the hives to keep away the predator bees and hornets.”
Aluis said he had appointed several shops and stockists, particularly in Kuching and Kuala Lumpur, to market his products, but much of the sales were via online orders. --Bernama