308
Honey formed from the first four species has thick consistency and is creamy
white in colour. Honey made from Aegiceras corniculatum nectar is considered to
be the best and is cream coloured. Honey from Ceriops is reddish. Honey derived
from Sonneratia apetala is yellowish and slightly light while honey Avicennia spp.
has a reddish tinge and is light. The honey made from Excoecaria agallocha has a
reddish colour and the taste is slightly sour.
Bulk collection of honey occurs in the following sequence from April to June
(Fig. 9.7 and Table 9.7).
This indicates that the bulk of the honey is produced from Acanthus ilicifolius,
Aegiceras corniculatum, Ceriops decandra, Phoenix paludosa, Kandelia candel
and Xylocarpus mekongensis. Honey collected during the latter half of April was
mainly from Ceriops and Sonneratia. The last phase of collection is from a mixture
of many species, of which Excoecaria agallocha contributes maximum as verified
from pollen analysis.
During honey collection the collectors uses a pot named dhama which is made
of cane. They use this pot because it has a wide mouth with whom it is easy to collect honey. Moreover this pot is less expensive than others and this pot does not
make any sound (which otherwise could disturb the bees). So it is friendly to use.
Preservation of honey is another one challenge for them. After collecting honey,
they separate the honey from the wax. Then they keep the honey in a plastic container. They do not waste the wax. They melt the wax in heat and give various
shapes to it. As the primary collectors are not associated with any type of value
addition in these products, they earn meager amounts of money. Honey and wax
handling and tinning plants are, therefore, of vital need in the villages of Sundarbans
as these can bring some extra money in the declining grass-root rural economy.
Production of honey candies from the collected materials can further boost up the
economy through value addition. For initiating a successful honey candy making
venture, analysis and characterization of honey, quality control of produced candy
as well as storage capacity studies and evaluation of shelf life of the product need to
be carried out in details.
Mangrove trees are also the sources of tannins. The importance of bark tannins
has declined in many Asian countries, but mangrove tannin is still used in India and
Bangladesh for leather curing and in Sri Lanka tannin is used traditionally in curing
fish nets. The tannins comprise two groups of phenolic constituents, hydrolysable
and condensed, which are important economically as agents for the synthesis of
Table 9.7 Sequence of
honey collection during
premonsoon season in Indian
Sundarbans (March – June)
April 1st to April 15th
40.8 percent
April 16th to April 30th 33.2 percent
May 1st to May 15th
20.0 percent
May 16th to May 31st
4.4 percent
June 1st to June 15th
1.6 percent
9 Mangroves: A Source of Existing and Alternative Livelihood
Honey formed from the first four species has thick consistency and is creamy
white in colour. Honey made from Aegiceras corniculatum nectar is considered to
be the best and is cream coloured. Honey from Ceriops is reddish. Honey derived
from Sonneratia apetala is yellowish and slightly light while honey Avicennia spp.
has a reddish tinge and is light. The honey made from Excoecaria agallocha has a
reddish colour and the taste is slightly sour.
Bulk collection of honey occurs in the following sequence from April to June
(Fig. 9.7 and Table 9.7).
This indicates that the bulk of the honey is produced from Acanthus ilicifolius,
Aegiceras corniculatum, Ceriops decandra, Phoenix paludosa, Kandelia candel
and Xylocarpus mekongensis. Honey collected during the latter half of April was
mainly from Ceriops and Sonneratia. The last phase of collection is from a mixture
of many species, of which Excoecaria agallocha contributes maximum as verified
from pollen analysis.
During honey collection the collectors uses a pot named dhama which is made
of cane. They use this pot because it has a wide mouth with whom it is easy to collect honey. Moreover this pot is less expensive than others and this pot does not
make any sound (which otherwise could disturb the bees). So it is friendly to use.
Preservation of honey is another one challenge for them. After collecting honey,
they separate the honey from the wax. Then they keep the honey in a plastic container. They do not waste the wax. They melt the wax in heat and give various
shapes to it. As the primary collectors are not associated with any type of value
addition in these products, they earn meager amounts of money. Honey and wax
handling and tinning plants are, therefore, of vital need in the villages of Sundarbans
as these can bring some extra money in the declining grass-root rural economy.
Production of honey candies from the collected materials can further boost up the
economy through value addition. For initiating a successful honey candy making
venture, analysis and characterization of honey, quality control of produced candy
as well as storage capacity studies and evaluation of shelf life of the product need to
be carried out in details.
Mangrove trees are also the sources of tannins. The importance of bark tannins
has declined in many Asian countries, but mangrove tannin is still used in India and
Bangladesh for leather curing and in Sri Lanka tannin is used traditionally in curing
fish nets. The tannins comprise two groups of phenolic constituents, hydrolysable
and condensed, which are important economically as agents for the synthesis of
Table 9.7 Sequence of
honey collection during
premonsoon season in Indian
Sundarbans (March – June)
April 1st to April 15th
40.8 percent
April 16th to April 30th 33.2 percent
May 1st to May 15th
20.0 percent
May 16th to May 31st
4.4 percent
June 1st to June 15th
1.6 percent
9 Mangroves: A Source of Existing and Alternative Livelihood