Can you imagine a world without vegetables and fruits? No coffee, tea, or chocolate!!! And we haven’t talked about crops like cotton and agricultural produce which are only the tip of the iceberg.
About 60 years ago, the physicist Albert Einstein said: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left.” We have learned that the ecological balance on our planet rests on the narrow shoulders of wild bees, the pollinators of most of the plants that are essential for maintaining the existence of life as we know it.
The Royal Geographical Society of London announced about two years ago that bees are the most important living creatures on our planet. Their pollination is critical to the continued existence of agriculture and food production.
News that the bee population is joining the list of endangered species is frightening. In recent years, about a third of the world’s bees have disappeared. In 2006, the phenomenon was discovered for the first time in the world. About two-thirds of the hives in the United States have been abandoned (40 billion).
A few months later, European countries (Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy and Spain) also reported a similar phenomenon which was termed: Colony Collapse Disorder. The consequence has been a 25% decrease in the variety of bee species.
About 80% of the world’s agricultural crops depend solely on bee pollination.
Beeswax candles Photo: Aliza Ashkenazi
Pollination is the action that fertilises the plants from which the vegetables and fruits are formed. Most plants are unable to reproduce by themselves. The disappearance of the bees will cause severe economic damage to agriculture and a worldwide shortage of types of foods based on fruits and vegetables.
One of the main causes is a parasite called VARROA DESTRUCTOR.
The mite usually sticks to the larvae and pupae of the bees in the hive and feeds on their fat reserves. In the process, it creates severe defects in their development. It is also able to stick to adult bees. Bee colonies visited by the varroa are fatally damaged.
We humans also contribute to the weakening of the bee population through accelerated construction, deforestation, global warming, etc. All of these upset the balance in the ecosystems of our planet. Recently, evidence has accumulated on the effect of honeybees grazing from hives on wild bees. Unlike sheep and goat grazing that can be controlled, honeybees cannot be managed.
From the moment they leave the hive, their entry into nature reserves and natural areas cannot be controlled.
In recent years, many groups around the world have begun to organise to try and promote the topic of bee conservation. Celebrities are also promoting the cause, among them the actor, Morgan Freeman, who began raising bees on his farm in Mississippi in order to protect them.
Jerusalem joins the fight
The Mosella association in Jerusalem mobilised to help in a unique way. A non-profit association that unites artists, social activists, educators and entrepreneurs, it operates four centers:
- The balcony – an urban oasis on the roof of a shopping center in the center of the city. And it has a magnificent garden with vegetable crops, fruit trees and, of course, a beehive.
- The workshop – community and social carpentry mainly operated by volunteers. Anyone can come to work or study there.
- The food saviors – workers at the wholesale market in his city promote a sustainable urban food system with an emphasis on reducing food waste.
- Sincilla – is on the roof of the municipal library in the east of the city. Acting on several levels in which economic empowerment exists
Several years ago, the association opened a branch in the eastern part of Jerusalem which is managed by Tarek Nassar.
The initial goal was cooperation with the Arab residents in those suburbs, who make up a significant part of the city’s population, with the aim of creating closeness with the help of common interests.
Together with the association’s CEO, Matan Israeli, and with the help of bee expert Yossi Oud, they started the Rooftop Bees project. Yossi specialises in biodynamic beekeeping, and under his guidance beehives were placed on the roofs of houses in the crowded eastern neighbourhoods.
The beehive Photo: Aliza Ashkenazi
Guided by Yossi, more than a hundred women went through a beekeeping course. Each had a beehive placed on the roof of her house, where she cares for the bees. These feed on ve,getation planted on the roof to serve the home bee population.
The roofs that were either empty or, in the best case, were used warehouses, became a green and living space for the bees and the family. These home hives can produce about 30 kg of honey per year.
And so we begin to bring to life a densely populated area with no green spaces at all. In this way we produce “urban” honey and do not harm the wild and pastoral areas which remain for the wild bees.
Each beehive on the roof of a home also impacts the family’s financial situation. The women – usually stay-at-home mothers – contribute to the family economy and also experience personal female empowerment. Where previously she was mainly concerned with the maintenance of the house and caring for the children – she now also raises bees the natural way, returning medicine to the soil and the plant world. This also strengthens her position within the family.
These hives produce biodynamic honey rich in minerals and vitamins, with medicinal and nutritious health qualities. About 80% of the women in the eastern part of the city do not work outside the home, and Sinsila and Musalla are working to change this, but without harming the Arab values and tradition.
So far, 115 women have joined the project. In recent days, 40 more hives have arrived and will be distributed to the women and families who are interested. The goal is to reach 500 families raising honeybees on the roofs of buildings within 3 years.
The Mosella association is promoting green roofs with beehives in the Jewish west of the city, in the densely populated areas of the ultra-Orthodox population, and also in other cities, to help women who want to enjoy an addition to the family’s livelihood in a green and healthy way.
Related archaeological finds include a 7000-year-old pottery jar that was used as a beehive, and 3,500-year-old wall paintings in Luxor in Egypt depicting honey pouring from wild beehives.
Honey on display Photo: Aliza Ashkenazi
In other words – from way back then, until today, today people (and animals) have enjoyed the products of the bees. And in the not-so-distant past, people attributed a special value to the bee honey, believing it to be a gift from heaven, like the dew on the flowers.
What better place to revive the beauty and life-giving role of the mighty honeybee than right here in the heart of Jerusalem?
