Case Studies

Overview

Located in Naha, Okinawa, the honey shop "Arakaki Bee Farm" was founded in 1954 with the mission of producing Okinawan products while contributing to creating a better environment where people and nature can live together.

The founder is a pioneer in beekeeping in Okinawa. There were no healthy products in Okinawa back in the days, he says. He was amazed by the nutritional wonders of honey and decided to promote honey products made in Okinawa. 

"Arakaki Bee Farm" is distinguished for their products such as honey, propolis, royal jelly, beeswax and pollen, all made in Okinawa.

As they are dedicated to making the environment better, they were also recognized as one of the Okinawa SDGs Partners by the Okinawa Prefectural Government. 

To pursue their environmental activities, they launched a joint project called "Shuri Honeybee and Flower Project" （首里ミツバチ・花いっぱいプロジェクト）and set up honeybee hives on surrounding hotels, schools and shops to fill the community with flowers and bees.

They also give lectures on beekeeping and the importance of preserving bees to promote eco-friendly activities and protect the future of agriculture.
Moreover, they provide service to collect bee hives that are built in residential areas. 

Recently, they introduced EM Technology as a trial to consider how EM can work to prevent disease and ticks in a natural way.
 

EM Application

Before applying EM・1, they smoke up the hives calm the bees down. 
Then, they apply EM・1 (2 fold dilution) throughout the hives and directly to the bees every 3 days. 

Effects and Results

After using EM・1 for 1 month, they compared the numbers of Varroa mites that fell down from the bees and were happy with the result. The number of fallen mites were 2-3 times larger in EM-treated group than that in Control group without EM. This result indicates that EM treatment could remove mites from bees through stimulating the grooming and/or hygienic behavers of the honeybees.
 

They believe that using EM・1 continuously will also stimulate the gut microflora of the bees, increasing beneficial microbes that help keep the overall health of the bees.
Further EM applications and survey are on going.

Read this article  to know more about Arakaki Family's passion in beekeeping.
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https://maga.daikyo-k.net/arakakiyouhouen/




(January, 2022)