Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
The recent spike in demand for local produce has seen more people choosing to adopt UAE bee hives to harvest their own honey.
So far this year, 24 families across the Emirates have pledged to support some of the thousands of hives located in the Hatta mountains.
As part of ‘My Hive’, an initiative launched in 2018 to help bolster the UAE’s beekeeping community, each “adoptive parent” yields about 10kg of honey annually.
For the 2019-2020 honey harvest season, the programme has recorded a “25 per cent growth in hive adoptions”, with a total of 113 families now helping to manage their own bee colonies.
"Because of the pandemic, more people have become interested in things like food security," Karim El Jisr, executive director of The Sustainable City in Dubai, told The National.
"It's also reassuring to know that the produce is pure, local and not filled with additives like glucose
“There have been a lot of stories in the global press about governments, companies and people turning to locally sourced produce because of food shortages due to the crises.
“More people are realising sourcing food locally is better for the environment and better value for money, so that change in behaviour is good.”
The project is organised and run by the Apiculture and Nature for the Betterment of Health and Beauty, one of the largest bee and beekeeping suppliers and producers in the Gulf.
Under the programme, The Sustainable City, a residential community in Dubai, owns 1,000 hives, which boasts a population of more than 20 million bees.
Many of the residents within the community, which is focused on green living, have adopted one of the community-owned hives to learn more about the role bees play in the production of food and the overall ecosystem.
Annually, El-Jisr said their bees produce about 15 tonnes of honey during the three harvest seasons, which are all named after the trees which the bees pollinate during that period: Sidr, Samar and Ghaf.
Of that total, about 1.5 tonnes of honey is distributed to the “adoptive parents”.
“We adopted our first hive in October 2019 because we’re a family that consumes a lot of honey,” said Farah Addel-jaber, a Jordanian mother-of-two living in Motor City.
“We received our first batch of Sidr honey in November, about 4kg in all, and in the next few weeks we will be sent our second batch of the season.
“We have lived in the UAE for five years and it feels great to know we have our own hive and are supporting local beekeepers.”
As part of the ‘My Hive’ programme, applicants pay a registration fee of Dh750 and then a yearly fee of Dh2,250.
Owners can visit the bee gardens in Hatta three times a year to see their hives and learn about the process of producing pure local honey.
When the Addel-jaber family signed up to the initiative, they chose to pay their adoption fees in three installments, paying Dh750 for each batch of honey received.
"Before that, we would buy imported honey and pay about Dh600 for 1kg, but for Dh750 we received 4kg in our first batch,” she said.
“It’s also reassuring to know that the produce is pure, local and not filled with additives like glucose.
“I hope and believe this current pandemic will change mindsets towards many things, like the importance of supporting local farmers and reducing food waste and our carbon footprint.”
Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, are increasingly under threat from human activities, but preservation is critical for food security and sustainability.
According to the United Nations, nearly 90 per cent of the world’s wild flowering plant species relies heavily on animal pollination.
In addition, more than three quarters of the world’s food crops directly depends on pollination.
“I think at a grass roots level adopting a hive is something you can do as a family and have a direct positive impact on the community and environment,” said New Zealander Gail Nash, 52.
“I joined ‘My Hive’ in 2018 but now I have four of my own hives in my back garden with about 300,000 bees.
“All I really have to do is ensure they have access to fresh water.
“Bees are a low maintenance pet and by allowing them to thrive without much interference is our way of giving back to the planet.”
"Any initiative that helps you support local food production and allows the bee population to thrive is one that will have long-term benefits for the planet.”
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
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Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
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Full list of Emmy 2020 nominations
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OUTSTANDING VARIETY/TALK SERIES
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
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Succession
Specs
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Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
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The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
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THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
