Ethiopia: Sweet solution reinvents honey production (Heifer International)

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Natnael Behaylu is enchanted by bees. “I love them very much,” he said. “Even seeing them fly in and out of the beehive inspires me a lot.”

Born in Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the 26-year-old grew up watching relatives and neighbors tend to their hives.

He says, “There were a lot of bees, but I didn’t think of them as any different from a fly who produced honey. What [eventually] fascinated me most and made me see them as different from a random fly is their teamwork. They produce the sweetest food in the world. They collaborate and look out for each other. If one bee falls sick, they bring a special nectar to treat it. I started resonating my life with theirs and being inspired by it. The more I read about them, the more I got closer to them.”

Beekeeping has been practiced for thousands of years in Ethiopia, where the country’s climate and its lush, diverse flora are ideal for honey production. Honey is no longer only a prized local commodity; it has become an important export and a vital source of supplementary income for millions of farmers in Ethiopia. And while the country produces more honey than any other African country, it has the potential to produce much more: up to 500,000 tons of honey a year. Current production is at only about 10 per cent of that potential.

Mr. Behaylu says, “Ethiopia ranks first with bee husbandry. … Not because we have the technologies, but [because we have] the suitable terrain. By using technologies, we can rank first not only in Africa, but in the world.”

Traditional beekeeping practices and honey extraction methods can harm bees and destroy the honeycomb, which contains bee larvae, thus ultimately reducing colony numbers. 

Between his passion for bees and his training in electromechanical engineering at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, Mr. Behaylul has long seen Ethiopia’s beekeeping challenges as an opportunity for innovation. In 2022, using a 3D printer, he designed an artificial honeycomb that allows bees to focus on honey production rather than comb construction. 

It takes a long time for bees to make the honeycomb, he explains — longer than it takes to make honey. He says, “So if I give the bees the honeycombs, then they’re able to yield honey in a shorter period of time.”

Mr. Behaylu’s 3D honeycomb not only increases bees’ honey production, but it also allows for gentle honey extraction, resulting in the loss of fewer bees. “It’s not just about the honey,” he reflects. “It’s about the bees themselves. Because bees are very important for our population, starting from feeding us to pollination. You know, if bees disappear, then we’re able to survive only for a while.”

Mr. Behaylu entered his 3D-printed innovation in the 2023 AYuTe Africa Challenge Ethiopia, a contest to support innovative agriculture and technology projects with the potential to address challenges faced by Ethiopian small-scale farmers and pastoralists. Each year, Heifer International rewards a total of $20,000 US in cash grants to the top three winners. These winners also receive ongoing business mentorship, helping them to develop their innovations further. 

Mr. Behaylu won $3,500 US in prize money in 2023, and since then he has been able to secure an office for his company, which he calls Yumm Honey. He has refined his design, and purchased the equipment needed to produce honeycombs for sale. 

Mr. Behaylu says with pride, “My ideas are no longer mere concepts. They have become reality.”

This story is based on an article published by Heifer International called, “A sweet solution: 3D-printed Honeycomb Reinvents Honey Production in Ethiopia.” To read the full story, go to: https://www.heifer.org/blog/feature-3d-printed-honeycomb