Hi gang
Can anyone tell me do they know anybody who keep honey bees. I know nothing about them but would like to find out. I see it potentially as a relatively strong income stream if you got into it in a meaningful way and i would guess the weather is very advantageous compared to ireland. Although Im gonna take a look at it in ireland but im heading out to carv in january and it would be great to hook up with someone who keeps bees. And before some people get up on their high horses honeybees are very placid creatures and dont sting unless attacked. Some of the most productive honeybees in europe can be found in the centre of london from what ive been told so they wont do you any harm. Any info would be helpful.
Regards
Robbie

There does appear to be a thriving industry in the Algarve for honey and products produced from honey not just for local consumption but also for the " tourist " market.

I get a huge pot of honey from my Portuguese friend every year at Christmas, a lot of the farmers around us keep bees but I don't know any English beekeepers & our neighbouring farmers don't speak English, does the method vary a great deal from country to country? The article at the link below might be of interest to you.

http://www.algarveresident.com/0-10736/ ... not-to-bee

My son keeps bees in the UK but not in the Algarve so I don't have any contacts but I have seen the equipment for sale at the annual Fatacil fair. I would also suggest talking to somebody that sells honey and pollen at one of the fairly regular craft or artisan fairs that crop up on a regular basis. Although language might be a problem if you don't speak Portuguese beekeepers everywhere are normally only too willing to talk and share experiences.

You could also try contacting the British Beekeepers Association to see if they can put you in touch with somebody in Portugal. Most suppliers will ship to overseas locations but given the weight and dimensions of even a flat pack hive I doubt that it would be viable.

Also look in Portuguese Yellow Pages - which are available on the web.

A new honey and medronho shop has opened in the centre of Monchique and it's run by the producers themselves (using a rotational system). Might be worth going in for a chat, although as said before language might be an issue

ditzy wrote:A new honey and medronho shop has opened in the centre of Monchique and it's run by the producers themselves (using a rotational system). Might be worth going in for a chat, although as said before language might be an issue

Been there - great little shop and they do speak english when we went - didnt try the honey, it was their other product I wanted

I too am thinking of keeping bees in the UK. I have bought a book called Beekeeping for Dummies.
It is one of the series of books that you can get like Widows for dummies/Excel for dummies etc.
It is so easy to read and well illustrated. I can recommend it.