This course continues a fruitful collaboration with Sindyanna of Galilee, a partner in the project. Seventeen inspiring women, Arab and Jewish, were selected to participate. They received training in sustainable beekeeping, which is healthy and environment-friendly. The women, who completed five theoretical workshops and visited the “Freedom Farm for Bees,” will continue to receive monthly personal mentoring for a year.
On Monday night, June 24th, at 11:00 PM, the final stage of the course took place. Each of the 15 new beekeepers received a hive with bees, including a queen, which they placed in their backyard or on their roof, in a pre-designated spot. The distribution of the hives occurred at night to avoid “stressing” the bees. A group of four women who excelled in the course were selected to serve as mentors. They will accompany Yossi Aud on his monthly visits to the beekeepers and will replace him after his annual mentorship ends. Yossi has already established several groups of women across the country, and the MAAN/Sindyanna group is proud to be part of this wonderful project, aptly named “Bees for Peace.”
According to Yossi, biodynamic beekeeping is a response to the dangerous phenomenon of bee disappearance worldwide. It allows beekeepers to protect the environment and enables the bee swarm to live as nearly as possible to how it would in nature. There is no use of chemicals, sugar, antibiotics, or toxins. Honey gathering is done in harmony with the bees, rather than as a step to deprive them of their food.
Wafa Tiara, the project manager, proudly shares that she already has a waiting list for the next course. For the first, she invited women from neighboring communities, believing that by growing bees and fighting climate change, Arabs and Jews together can contribute to strengthening the social fabric and awareness of their societies.
Tiara: “At MAAN and Sindyanna of Galilee, we have long been interested in a green environment and methods to protect the Earth. The issue of protecting bees, without which we would not have food plants and fruits, is an integral part of this approach. I selected women for the course who are diverse and capable of contributing their skills. First and foremost, I chose women interested in environmental protection, who can spread awareness and knowledge about the problems our planet faces, such as global warming and air pollution. Some of the women had already begun this process when they participated in our hydroponic agriculture course. A group of women from the village of Jat, who also enrolled in the course, have been operating a magnificent ecological garden for some time, where they grow, among other things, mosquito-repellent plants that replace harmful chemical products which are damaging to the body and the environment.”
“I made a point of selecting women from several villages so that the issue of bees would gain widespread attention. I also chose two women with physical disabilities, and I must say that they succeeded remarkably and felt that beekeeping and caring for the bees were a form of therapy for them. Among the participants were women with higher education, women involved in art, as well as women who did not finish high school. This is how we built a very diverse course.”
Nijme Kabaha from the village of Barta’a studied mathematics, science, and educational technology at Bar-Ilan University. She then earned certification as a licensed advisor in practical and sustainable ecology, including permaculture and biodynamic agriculture, and is now a certified advisor in the field. Previously, she participated in a MAAN course on home vegetable gardening using the hydroponic method, which she applied as a form of therapy for the children in the therapeutic kindergarten she manages.
Nijme tells us that she was named after her grandmother, who raised bees in hives she built from clay. “My grandmother was an inspiration to me, and this course brought back pleasant childhood memories. She cared for the bees, harvested honey, and loved watching them. From her, I learned not to fear bees. It turns out I’m continuing her legacy, and I’d be happy to pass on the vast cultural wealth surrounding beekeeping to the next generation.”
“Since I received the hive, my children and I enjoy watching the bees every day. Even the neighbor’s children come to look at the bees, check if there’s water, and marvel at how quiet they are.” Nijme coordinates environmental and science education at a school for students with special needs in Umm al-Fahm, where she also teaches in a therapeutic greenhouse and an ecological garden. “I have to thank MAAN and Sindyanna for opening doors for us Arab women, enabling both personal and economic empowerment. In the next phase, we will learn to make candles and various types of cosmetic and medicinal creams.”
It turns out that natural beekeeping was once very common in the villages of the Triangle. Muhaimana Masarwe from Kufr Qara, who started a small business five years ago, and teaches Arabic privately today, shares: “In the 1970s, there were many clay hives in the village, and it was part of our lives. If bees invaded someone’s porch or house, they would call my grandmother, who knew how to remove them and set up a new hive for them.” When Muhaimana heard about the beekeeping course, she jumped at the opportunity: “The meetings with Yossi didn’t just fill us with knowledge. Yossi had a wonderful and patient way of explaining the mysteries of bee life. I don’t think any of the group missed a single lesson. The visit to Yossi’s Freedom Farm for Bees in the Jerusalem hills helped us overcome our fear of bees. We learned how to quietly take them out of the hive and quietly return them. The bees didn’t feel threatened, and that was the most important lesson. The harmony with nature is also part of the village tradition, which influences the plants and the environment. I was amazed that Yossi and I share the same principles. I’m new to the profession and want to acquire more knowledge and experience so I can guide other women.”
In’am Mahamid from Umm al-Fahm works as an art instructor for adults with disabilities. She keeps her beehive in the nearby village of Mu’awiya. Despite needing crutches, she makes sure to visit the bees daily: “From the moment the course started, I felt a sense of well-being, love, and understanding of how to organize life. There’s a connection between me and the bees—I talk to them, sing to them, and forget that I have crutches. At first, my husband and daughters were afraid and didn’t want to come, but now they’ve gotten used to it and have started to show interest. There’s something healing and inspiring about the bees. They live in a system where everyone has a role that serves the entire community. Sometimes I think humans have forgotten how they should live. I feel that if everyone in the world learned from the bees, we would live much better.”
Michelle Anne is a reflexologist who lives in an urban area in a high-rise building. When asked about the community’s reaction to her new tenants, she says, “My daughter is wary, my son less so, but they’ll get used to it. I would love to organize people to raise bees on rooftops. For city dwellers it seems bizarre, and it will take them time to get used to the idea, so I’m not rushing it. I want to gain more experience before approaching the other residents of the building. I would really like to explain that bees can connect people to nature. Most people are afraid of bees, but they don’t sting without reason. There’s something about the diligent nature of bees, in their gentle buzzing and the balance within the hive, that makes their presence in my life purely positive, and I feel connected to them”. When I asked her how she integrated with the Arab women, she said, “We went through an empowering and bonding experience. A wonderful friendship has developed between us. I am so grateful for this opportunity to deepen my knowledge of the natural world and for the special bond that has created this new sisterhood, led by the queen bee and her team.”
The Other has a Sting, but also Honey
We spoke with Yossi Aud after he spent 14 hours visiting the homes of the beekeepers, who live fairly long distances from each other: “People always ask me, ‘Yossi, don’t you get tired?’ And I always reply – on the contrary, when I visit the homes of the women beekeepers, my heart swells, and I am filled with hope. Every time, I’m amazed to see how shared lives are woven together by this stinging creature, and how shared lives are formed among Jewish and Arab women, along with all their family members who get involved in the project. The stinging creature is no longer threatening, ‘the enemy has become a friend.’ I think this is one of the most important tasks of our time: to understand the different, the foreign, and the strange. Simply to break the stigma, to accept the other, and to recognize that just as we and the other might have a sting to be feared, we and the other also have honey.”
