Beekeeping course
course Presentation
During the flowery days of spring and summer ahead, come and deepen your knowledge of the wonderful world of bees and the art of beekeeping production with Harald Hafner. The Beekeeping course will be divided into 5 modules, which will take place on 14, 28 and 29 May and 25 and 26 June 2022. The sessions will take place in Ananda Valley, a place immersed in Nature on the outskirts of Serra da Estrela. You can participate in the whole course (5 modules) or only in the modules you wish. In July (date to be announced) there will also be a session on other groups of pollinators, such as bumblebees and beetles.
Throughout the course, all the essential topics will be covered so that you can set up and manage your own hives and start extracting the products that bees so kindly produce there.
detailed content
The detailed content of each of the 5 modules of the beekeeping course is described below:
Module 1 (14th of May) – Introduction
• Importance of bees – A brief history
• Portuguese bee flora (some) and how to better it
• Basic tools and gear, where to get them and how to use them
• Different types of hives – different beekeeping styles
• Where to best place your hives – how to keep bees, beekeepers and neighbors happy
• Legal requirements and rules for keeping bees in Portugal
• How to get bees into your hives – attracting swarms or buying bees
• First peek inside the hive – The superorganism beehive, its different members and general organization in relation to its environment
• First steps, observation and what to look out for
Module 2 (28th of May) – Biology of the hive
• A detailed look at the superorganism beehive
• Hive organization
• Queen, drones, worker bees and comb – their function and key aspects of hive life
• The swarming process – a new hive is born
• Bee communication
• Bee and hive anatomy
• Bees nutritional needs
• At the hive entrance – what to observe
• Hive inspection how to go about and what to look out for
• More bee flowers
Module 3 (29th of May) – Hive management and development – interventions and inspections
• General rules
• Accompanying your hive during the seasons
• Strong hives – healthy hives
• Summer and winter care
• Managing the spring development
• Swarming – from prevention to “let it bee” – to taking advantage of it
• Splitting and multiplying hives – create new hives, how and why?
• Honey production
• Other interventions
• Feeding: Why?, When?, What?
Module 4 (25th of June) – Problems of the hive: hive health
• How to prevent disease – general rules
• Main problems and diseases and how to recognize them
• Varroa: Why it is a problem?
• Life cycle of the mite
• Diagnostic methods
• Treatment options or “not to treat?”
• Asian hornets and how to cope
Module 5 (26th of June) – Hive products
Characteristics, use and how to harvest with care:
• Honey
• Pollen
• Propolis
• Beeswax
• Royal jelly
• Bee Venom
How to best enjoy them and how to transform them (a selection)
• Honey harvest
• Propolis tincture
• Cosmetics with hive products
• Honey liqueur
• Other products (according to participants interest)
Prices and logistics informations
Accommodation:
– Options are available, please check the registration form
Meals:
Meals will be vegan (let us know at registration if you have any additional dietary requests) and will cost 10€/meal or 15€/day (including all meals).
Language: this course will be bilingual (English and Portuguese).
Payment options:
-The contribution for the beekeeping course (5 modules) is 150€
-If you choose to do isolated modules the contribution will be 40€/module
-The meals and the accommodation have an added price to the beekeeping course
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJF2NyotBXvJO5qgfDdGdP5fq5Y4zdquRisU88YxcE5wrdRA/viewform
For additional informations please contact s.ornelas@ecoativo.pt or +351968502174
Additional yoga and meditation classes will be available to who wants to join during each day of the course.
about the facilitator
Harald Hafner is a professional beekeeper, beekeeping instructor and Master Beekeeper which lives in Mangualde, near Viseu, since 2006.
He is responsible for about 200 hives in the Beira Alta Region and for all the events and products related to bees at “A Abelha Azu”l (https://www.facebook.com/aabelhaazul)..
Harald combines his passion for bees with 25 years of experience and practice with bees and beekeeping in different countries and climate zones, and possesses a deep knowledge of the world of bees and beekeeping techniques.
Dedicated to natural beekeeping practice, he offers workshops and beekeeping courses all over Portugal since 2011, and he has already inspired over 1000 new beekeepers to take up the craft.
