Introducing Kele-Kele Honey, From Bulian Village, Buleleng Bali
Kele-Kele honey or Clanceng bees are starting to become the belle of new business among the people. That's because the Kele-Kele honey business is quite tempting. After all, it only requires a little capital but can reap a lot of profit.
One of the Honey Bee Farmers Group "Sari Kembang" from Bulian Village, Kubuaddan District has proven it. Formed in 2019, this 26-member farmer group began to cultivate Kele-Kele honey which has been carried out for generations by the local community.
This was revealed by the Perbekel of Bulian Village, o0I Made Sudirsa when confirmed Monday (27/6) after reviewing the Kele-Kele honey farm belonging to a member of the Sari Kembang Honey Bee Farmer Group. This is considered very high because it is also supported by natural factors.
"In response to the potential of Clanceng honey bee cultivation which is starting to be popular with the community, an initiative has emerged which was spearheaded directly by our Village Secretary to form the Sari Kembang Honey Bee Farmer Group," he said.
In addition, support from the village government (Pemdes) to develop farmer groups has often been done. One of them is to provide assistance and guidance to the Bali Provincial Forestry Service so that the production and cultivation of bees can be more optimal.
It's not enough that the village government also facilitates terms of capital through village-owned enterprises (BUMDES). Even Bumdes is willing to market the results of a group or individual cultivation for sale. Regarding capital, farmer groups can apply for loans directly to Bumdes as long as the group has started to form which will then be recorded and surveyed.
"It will be surveyed later and if you meet the requirements, you can get a loan of around 25-50 million without interest. That's one of our forms of helping farmers through subsidies from Bumdes," he said. Besides being beneficial for health, Perbekel Sudirsa believes that another advantage of honey bee cultivation can unwittingly encourage the people of Bulian Village to reduce the use of pesticides for plantations. So that more and more Kele bees can have a good impact on the agricultural sector in Bulian Village.
Meanwhile, met at the same place, the head of the Sari Kembang Honey Bee Farmer Group, I Made Sudira, explained that the techniques for cultivating the honey bee Kele in his group are still carried out naturally and traditionally. Starting from the initial collection and transfer of beehives from the forest, including preparing a beehive place that still uses natural materials in the form of halved bamboo sticks.
“Removal of bees from nature is still done traditionally according to ancestral beliefs. Our group takes the mother bees directly from the forest, either nesting on the ground or on bamboo trees which are then brought home to be raised," explained Sudira, who is also the Secretary of Bulian Village.
Made Sudira, further said that weather factors greatly affect the cultivation of this Clanceng honey livestock. Because these bees tend to like cool places, even if the weather is very hot or cold, these bees will quickly migrate to other places. In addition, it is also very dependent on the flowering season of the surrounding plants as a bee nectar material to produce honey.
"For example, if the flowers are already a lot, maybe it will take about 3 months to produce honey according to our expectations," he said.
Made Sudira emphasized again, that if the weather is favorable and the availability of nectar for bees is sufficient, it is estimated that the group can harvest honey 2-3 times a year. On average, each group member can get an additional income of around 5.5 million per harvest. Regarding the quality of honey, Sudira emphasized that the honey from her group is processed naturally without any chemical touch and is guaranteed to be 100% pure. So, the honey is guaranteed to be of high quality and durable if stored for a long period.
"Because of the natural honey harvesting process, we believe the quality is good, and automatically customers will continue to subscribe, including as a promotional medium to other people that we sell pure Kele honey here," he added.
For marketing, honey from his group has entered the market share of almost all districts in Bali. Even his group never kept the honey stock for too long because the orders were quite high, in fact, they often ran out of stock. Therefore, his party will coordinate the members to be able to add more beehives.
“We will continue to support the members of this group to add more bee houses every year so that there is more honey available. In addition, harvest and post-harvest techniques will continue to be emphasized to maintain the quality of the honey itself," he said.
Made Sudira believes that the honey from the group assisted by the Kele is very good for health and is also believed to be good for your cosmeticsbecause of the purity of the honey itself.
For the selling price of their fostered honey, the group made large bottles with a capacity of 620 ml at a price of Rp. 350 thousand and packaged in small bottles with a capacity of 300 ml at a price of Rp. 150 thousand.
The cultivation of this clanceng honey bee gives its own blessing from one of the members of the group, namely Kadek Budiasa. The man, who works as a farmer on a daily basis, said that at first it was just a fad to raise honey bees with clanceng.
Starting from finding a hornet's nest while gardening, he tried to make a beehive at home and produced a bottle of honey at that time which he immediately sold. Since then, Kadek Budiasa has been passionate about honey breeding and currently has approximately 100 beehives in his house. Kadek Budiasa said that in promoting his honey he only uses social media. Several big cities in Bali such as Denpasar, Gianyar and most areas in Buleleng have already tasted the honey klang.
Through the results of this clanceng honey livestock cultivation, he gets an additional income of approximately 15 million per year. "Astungkara has additional income and it is sufficient to meet the needs of the family," concluded Budiasa.