Salient Features of ‘Sewagram Nisarg’ Honey

(Pure, natural, eco-friendly forest honey gathered from wildbees by trained

tribals under DRDA, CAPART & Tribal Department)
Honey is highly precious gift of the nature to mankind. It is termed as the Ambrosia, a food
of gods. Due to versatile medicinal applications of honey, it is gathered by man since the
pre-historic times.

In last 100 years, although scientists have investigated appropriate scientific techniques of
rearing of docile bee-species for the commercial production of honey, wax & other
products, the wild natured bee-species ignored largely due to their ferocity. Therefore, in
the lack of proper management practices, the professional honey hunters traditionally hunt
their nests by ruthless destructive means, which yield them the seasonable livelihood. As
a result, more than 1.2 million rockbee nests (approximately 36,000,000,000 bees / 250
forest pockets in the country) are destructed every year. A declining population of bees in
nature is a real threat to productivity of crops & forest vegetation. Bees are important for
the cross-pollination services. In the lack pollination, not only the bio-diversity but also
richness in vegetation is.

Under these circumstances, the eco-techno group associated with Centre for Bee
Development (CBeeD), Nalwadi Wardha (Paliwal G.N, Sunita Paliwal, Mound Uikey & D.
B. Tembhare) has developed a very simple & eco-friendly technique of honey-wax
harvesting from the colonies of wild nature bee-species (Bees for Development Journal,
77, 2005, pp. 3-4). The CBeeD is exclusively working for popularizing these evolved
techniques of rockbee management amongst the traditional honey hunters in about 27
forest-rich districts of central & southern India with the involvement of local NGOs. The
identified groups of honey hunters are being organized under ‘self help group (SHG)’.
The skill up-gradation training is provided to these identified target groups by the technical
team of CBeeD. Exclusive training camps are arranged in the localities of honey hunters.
Duration of training in each camp is kept for about five days so that all technical details
are disseminated to the target beneficiaries.

In this way, the traditional destructive knowledge of honey-wax hunting is systematically

upgraded with the simple and easy to adopt ‘non-violent’ knowledge. Adoption of new
techniques leads to sustainable and repeated harvesting of very high quality honey & wax.
A fairer buy-back arrangement for the produce is arranged to avert the insecurity price &
selling of the produce in quantity.

One such very successful experiment implemented in Vidharba region of Maharashtra

State is through the projects supported by DRDA (Govt. of MS), CAPART (N. Delhi, Govt.
of India) & Tribal Department (Govt. of MS). Here CBeeD has trained around 150
traditional bee-hunters, which are yearly producing more than 80-100-qt honey. Honey
produced by them is being marketed for consumers under the brand name ‘Sewagram
Nisarg Honey’ through our official marketing agency ‘Bee Techno Services’, Wardha.

Basic peculiarities of Sewagram Nisarg Honey

• Sewagram Nisarg Honey is pure forest honey harvested from rockbees, Apis
dorsata.
• The process of harvesting of Sewagram Nisarg Honey is exclusively eco-
friendly (non-violant). This means that trained tribals are harvesting honey
without harming the adult bees, their nests and the forest vegetation.
• The crucial part of processing of Sewagram Nisarg Honey is performed very
meticulously. Simple instrument namely ‘honey processor’ is designed to warm
 raw honey at controlled temperature 55 to 57 Degree Centigrade for a period of 1
to 3 hours according to a moisture content in each batch of honey procured from
the beneficiaries. A controlled heat treatment kills the osmophilic yeast without
alteration in a natural aroma, flavor and medicinal properties of natural honey.
This means that the natural enzymes, amino acids, proteins, vitamins, etc. are
retained. Finally, bottling and packing of processed honey is performed very
hygienically in the cleaned bottles.
• No smoke or fire is used during harvesting of Sewagram Nisarg Honey, so its
natural quality do not get deteriorated in any way and no fear of forest fires as
are normally noticed in the conventional methods of honey hunting.
• Sewagram Nisarg Honey is unblended honey in its purest form. It is stored,
processed and packed according to the different flowering seasons.
• The nectar and pollen content determines different taste and odour to each batch
of Sewagram Nisarg Honey.
• Blending of all seasons’ honey together and offering a uniform taste and odour is
avoided as a policy while dealing with Sewagram Nisarg Honey.
• No addition of liquid fructose is done for bringing Fructose to Glucose (F/G ratio)
above than one. Actually by doing this one can easily avoid granulation in honey
and satisfy the consumers demand who normally hesitate to purchase granulated
honey in a fear of adulteration. The honeys harvested during winter season (from
the yellow flowering vegetation) tend to granulate even at a room temperature
because in such honeys F/G ratio is always below than one. A granulation of
honey shall never be treated bad as such honeys contain more dextrose than
fructose.
• On a longer storage of Sewagram Nisarg Honey, a brownish scum floats over a
top region of container or bottle. This means that most of the natural pollen
grains of honey have been aggregated in the form of scum and is an indication
that ultra-filtration of honey is not performed. Such honeys are medicinal & can
be treated as complete food.
• Sewagram Nisarg Honey may be termed, as true organic honey in the sense that
no insecticide or pesticides are used in forest and thus it is derived by the bees
from all uncontaminated natural flowers of the forests.
The medicinal properties of forest honey are always better as compared to the honeys
gathered from the cultivated crops. Because, the rockbees mostly settles their hives in the
forest belts where they forage on the diversified vegetation like Hardwickia binata (anjan);
Terminalia arjuna (arjun); T. bellirica (bahera); T. chebula (harda); Terminalia alata (ain);
Madhuca indica (mahua); Azadiracuta indica (neem); Acacia arabica (babool); Ceiba
pentandra (white katsawar); Bombax ceiba (red katsawar); Adina corifolia (haldu),
Mangifera indica (mango), Boswellia serrata (salai); Leucaena spp. (soobabul); Moringa
oleifera (drumstick-Sainjana); Pongamia pinnata (karanja); Syzygium spp. (jambul);
Terminalia tomenfosa (Ain); Tamarindus indica (Imli); Vitex negundo (nirgudi);
Azadirachta indica (neem); Delonix regia (gul-mohar); Limonia acidissima (khavat);
Acacia catechu (khair); Acacia sinuate (sikakai); Bombax ceiba & Ceiba pentandra
(samul); Erioglossum rubiginosum (ritha); Eucalyptus spp. (nilgiri); Emblica officinalis
(amla); Butea monosperma (palas); Wrightia tinctoria (dudhapuda); Combretum sp.
(purewel); Syzygium cumini (Jamun); Ziziphus mauritiana (Aroni) Zizyphus jujuba (ber);
Ziziphus mauritiana (ber), Mimosa hamata (chilati); Combretum ovalifolium. (purewel),
Hevea brasiliensis (rubber); Gymnospora montana (bharati); Ocimum sanctum (tulsi);
Psoralea corylifolia (Bawachi); Hygrophila auriculata (Talimkhan); Cassia obtusifolia
(takali); etc.
This means that medicinal properties of each batch of honey varies according to different
plant-specific flowering in different months in summer & winter seasons.
• A chemical analysis shows that rockbee honey contains high reducing sugar
(fruit sugar) as compared to honey derived from domesticated bees. It contains
less amount of non-reducing sugar (sucrose) (1.5 to 2 %) as compared to honey
of domesticated bees (about 5%).
• Chemical analysis further suggests that Sewagram Nisarg Honey contains
moisture (19 to 20%), acidity (0.078 to 0.18), specific gravity (1.33 to 1.43), ash
(inorganic material- 0.05 to 0.3). This is a natural composition and it is well within
a range of specifications approved by AGMARK markings.
• Presently Sewagram Nisarg Honey has ‘Agmark Certification’ under grade ‘A’.
It is available in the different pack sizes for example- 50gm (Rs.18/-) & 100gm
(Rs.32/-) in wide mouth glass bottles while wide mouth PP jars are used for
honey packing. MRP for 200gm (Rs.50/-), 500gm (Rs.100/-) & 1000gm
(Rs.190/-). The jars are laminated with shrink plastic.
• We give 20% retailer’s margin on MRP as per the minimum purchase.
• Honey in loose is available @ Rs. 135/- kg (cost of container extra). We can
supply any quantity of honey as per the buyer.
• About 50% payment at the time of an order and 50% at the time of delivery of
Mode of payment: At least 50% advance shall be made by electronic transfer in the name of Centre for Bee
Development, Wardha, AC/N 11036969541 in SBI (treasury branch code-05764) and remaining at the time of parcel.

goods by crossed demand draft (DD) in favour of ‘Bee Techno Services’,

Wardha.
or

Analytical results of honey harvested from colonies of rock bees through eco-friendly
method during summer- and winter seasons in Vidharba region.
Sr. Parameters Approved ‘Agmark Analytical results of honey harvested
No. specifications’ for various from rock bees through eco-friendly
grades of honey method during
Special ‘A’ Standard Summer Winter
1 Specific gravity 1.41 1.39 1.37 1.34 to 1.43 1.33 to 1.40
at 27 C (min.) (average 1.38) (average 1.37)
2 Moisture (max.) 20% 22% 25% 19-21 % 19-21 %
3 Total reducing sugar 70 65 65 65.02 to 76.11 72.9 to 74.84
by mass (min.) (average 70.56) (average 73.56)
4 Sucrose by mass 5 5 5 1.64 to 5 1.22 to 2.85
(max.) (average 3.52) (average 2.18)
5 Fructose to Glucose 1 1 1 0.8 to 1.83 1.24 to 1.35
ratio (min.) (0.95) (0.95) (average 1.20) (average 1.3)
6 Acidity (max.) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.078 to 0.18 1.38 to 0.17
(average 0.11) (average 0.15)
7 Ash (minerals) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.05 to 0.3 0.2 to 0.19
(max.) (average 0.18) (average 0.195)
8 Aniline chloride Test -ve -ve -ve -ve -ve
9 Fiehe’s Test -ve -ve -ve -ve -ve

(Dr. Gopal Paliwal)

Centre for Bee Development,
Nalwadi, Wardha-442 001