Daily Archives: September 11, 2015

Honey in all its varied sweetness

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives & Environment, Nature
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Festival includes training for bee keepers and a session on epitherapy

The seventh edition of the honey festival got underway at VJT Hall here on Wednesday. The four-day festival provides the people of the city an opportunity to taste several varieties of honey and familiarise themselves with a plethora of honey-based products.

Hundreds of honey farmers from different parts of the State are part of the festival and are displaying their unique honey varieties. The festival is being jointly organised by the Federation of Indigenous Apiculturists (FIA), State Horticultural Mission, Kerala Agricultural University, State Biodiversity Board, and Horticorp.

The varieties range from Coorg honey and Wayanadan honey to sunflower honey, stingless bee honey and several others.

Also on sale are honey products such as honey wax, soaps and facial creams, and many products with honey as their base. Hives of stingless bees, Newton bees, honey extractors, and other honey production equipment are also on display.

A training programme is being conducted for apiculturists (bee keepers) over these four days. The training will also include a day’s session on epitherapy, the treatment of various illnesses using honey and allied products.

Mission and museum

According to C. Manojkumar, a breeder from Kannur, the annual honey festivals in the capital city have helped the apiculturists earn good profits in a short time.

“At last year’s festival, my stall had sales of around Rs.4-5 lakh. The total sale across all the stalls was well above Rs.50 lakh. This year, the government has announced that a State Honey Mission will be formed under the Horticultural Mission. Also, a honey museum on the lines of the Central Bee Research Institute is also being planned in Kannur,” says Mr. Manojkumar.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Staff Reporter / Thursday – September 10th, 2015

An Ingenious Idea That Makes This Station One Of The Most Beautiful Railway Stations In India

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Came across an amazing thing just as my vacation was about to begin. This was on my way to Kottayam, from this quaint little town of Aluva, about 16 km from Kochi airport. These pictures are from the railway station. As I entered the station, I saw these plastic bottles hanging from the barricades between the railway tracks and colourful flowers blooming all over them. Intrigued (and with some time at hand to kill), I went to the station master, C Balakrishnan, who was kind enough to entertain my query even as he was in the middle of a discussion with Mr. Mohan, CPS, and Ms. Indu, one of his team members.

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The trio informed me that this ingenious idea was the brainchild of Mr. Arun, the health inspector. This initiative may look like a simple intervention, but it addresses multiple issues. Just a small step towards ‘beautification’ of the premises, the plastic bottles were collected from the tracks by members of Ms. Indu’s team, thanks to incessant littering by travelers in trains that passed by over the last few months. China Rose is a relatively low maintenance plant, I was told, and not only does it easily withstand rough weather conditions, but is also aesthetically pleasing. This was a practically no-cost initiative, and doesn’t require significant extra effort for maintenance. Plus, an interesting way of using bottles strewn away on the tracks.

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The most critical impact of this simple intervention blew me away: often, people used to cross railway tracks and that had led to an unprecedented increase in rail accidents; these plants don’t leave much space for people to cross through, thereby encouraging them to use the foot over bridge to cross over to another platform.

Ms. Indu’s team member was hard at work in the sun, clearing the railway tracks, and the entire team continues to strive to maintain cleanliness.

Kudos to the team. Couldn’t help but post this: a classic example, in my opinion, of teamwork, low-cost, simple innovative intervention that is sustainable, environment-friendly, and just amazing!

From the Facebook Timeline of Neha Venkatesh

source: http://www.thelogicalindian.com / The Logical Indian / Home> My Story / by Neha Venkatesh / September 10th, 2015