Em outubro de 2025, iniciamos uma jornada de meliponicultura em diferentes territórios da nossa rede. Essas atividades foram possíveis pelo apoio do programa bwirkt!, da Fundação SEZ Baden-Württemberg e pelo apoio que a Tamalpais Trust oferece à nossa organização. Ao longo das oficinas realizadas na aldeia Tukapehy (T.I. Sororó), na aldeia Barreirinha (T.I. Arariboia) e na comunidade ribeirinha Campo de Perizes, o percurso revelou diferentes formas de relação com as abelhas, com o território e com o próprio processo de aprender.

Autora: Ana Carolina Cavalcanti
Leia em Português

Aldeia Tukapehy: fortalecer abelhas nativas em contexto de desmatamento

The journey began in Tukapehy village, in the Sororó Indigenous Land, territory of the Aikewara people, in southern Pará, a region located within the deforestation arc.

In this context, the relationship with native bees coexists with constant pressures. The advance of unsustainable practices in the surrounding areas, including the use of pesticides by neighboring farms, has contributed to the reduction of these species — a change already noticed by the community.

“Back then, I used to follow my grandfather a lot, we collected a lot of honey near the village. Today it’s harder, I believe because of pesticides. Farmers say bees are pests, but for us they’re not. For us, they are beneficial.”

— Ikatú Suruí

It was in this context that the gathering took place.

Over three days, the workshop was structured through different moments. In the first, listening guided the process: the Meli team followed accounts about the presence of bees in the region, their uses, and the transformations observed over time. Along the way, the names of several species emerged, showing that knowledge was already present.

In the following days, activities moved into practice. Bee boxes were built and implemented, forming a meliponary in the village. Content was shared about biology, stingless bee management, and related ecological aspects, such as the importance of pollination.

The process was built as a dialogue between knowledge systems. Throughout the activities, it became clear that Meli’s role there was to strengthen and to listen. Each story, each species, each use: knowledge embedded in daily life and shared across generations.

Children, youth, adults, and elders all took part in the process.
Elders, in particular, hold a central role. They are the ones who safeguard and transmit knowledge that keeps alive a way of relating to nature built over time.

In addition, the workshop also responds to a concrete concern.

“A worrying piece of information they shared is that over time they have been seeing fewer and fewer bees […] An alarming issue, which reinforces the importance of the workshop, precisely to strengthen this.”

— William Bercê, workahop facilitador

In a region where bees have always been present but are now disappearing, the workshop emerges as a tool to break this cycle. Techniques for capturing, managing, and multiplying colonies become strategies to strengthen meliponiculture and the presence of these species in the territory.

Barreirinha Village: meliponiculture, culture, and autonomy in the territory

The journey continued to Barreirinha village, in the Arariboia Indigenous Land, in the municipality of Arame (Maranhão).

There, meliponiculture is already integrated into the territory. The management of native bees is connected to local consumption and income generation, forming practices that strengthen the community’s autonomy.

This relationship, however, is not limited to production: bees also occupy a central place in the cultural life of the territory. Their importance is such that it is expressed in cultural practices like the Honey Festival, a traditional celebration that would not take place without the different bee species present in the region.

In this context, the workshop becomes a space for deepening and exchange among experienced meliponiculturists.

Throughout the activities, practices related to hive management, meliponary organization, and care for stingless bees were shared, always in dialogue with the knowledge already present in the community.

Among the practical moments was the transfer of bees into boxes that become part of the local meliponary. This process requires attention to the characteristics of each species and reinforces the continuity of a practice already developed in the village.

“It is important to take care of bees because they also take care of us — that’s why this workshop is important.”

— Jó Guajajara

Thus, caring for bees here also means caring for the territory and culture — dimensions that remain inseparable in the life of the Guajajara people.

Campo de Perizes: meliponiculture in the mangrove and strengthening native bees

The journey concluded in the riverside community of Campo de Perizes.

After passing through forest Indigenous territories, the path reaches a different context, marked by the presence of mangroves. The landscape changes, but the relationship with bees remains.

Throughout the workshop, the transfer and multiplication of stingless bees — such as tiúba and uruçu — were central to the activities, alongside management practices, hive care, and exchanges about the relationship between bees and the environment.

This practice responds to a change perceived by the community: the growing presence of Apis mellifera, known as the “American” bee, which has been displacing native species. In this context, multiplying stingless bees becomes a way of strengthening meliponiculture and, consequently, the presence of these species in the territory.

The observed hives — populous and productive — indicate the vitality of the ecosystem and the diversity of mangrove blooms, also reflected in the honey and propolis produced in the region.

For Ana Maria, a community member and workshop participant, the process translates into learning and continuity of practice.

“These were days of great learning. I was able to increase my colony, learn about the importance of bees and how to take better care of them.”

— Ana Maria

Mini-documentary captures the Pollinating Regeneration journey

As an unfolding of this journey, on March 13 we launched the mini-documentary Pollinating Regeneration, built from these workshops carried out across different territories.

The video brings together images and testimonies from participants, documenting the experience lived throughout the gatherings. The voices present different perspectives on meliponiculture, the relationship with bees, and the meanings attributed to these practices in each context.

The documentary is available on YouTube. It is a sensitive record that invites viewers to follow — through the voices of the territories themselves and our team — the paths taken throughout this journey, and to reflect on the importance of meliponiculture.

The name of the workshop series and the mini-documentary, Pollinating Regeneration, reflects what runs through this entire process. By strengthening meliponiculture, the initiative also strengthens the conditions for pollination — sustained by those who live in and care for these territories. It is these leaders, in different contexts, who keep alive the practices, knowledge, and relationships that make regeneration possible.