Maharashtra's First Honey Park Inaugurated: Everything You Need To Know About This Unique Project Launched In Mahabaleshwar

The country's first Honey Park has been set up in Mahabaleshwar to promote honey production, research and study, as well as village industries, while the second Honey Park has been set up in Mumbai. The Honey Park in Mahabaleshwar was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Honey Directorate by Ravindra Sathe, Chairman of Maharashtra State Khadi and Village Industries Board (MSKVIB).

Maharashtra State Khadi and Village Industries Corporation has initiated the promotion of honey production through CSR funds. Madhuban Honey Park has been set up on three acres of land within the Honey Directorate premises in Mahabaleshwar from CSR funds of six lakhs. Thirty beehives have been placed in this park, along with honey collection machines, honey processing equipment, swarm nets, queen bee breeding equipment, pollen traps, and bee whale. Farmers, beekeepers, students on school trips, and tourists who come to study bees will get all the information about honey production at one place, along with demonstrations.

Efforts are being made to establish the Honey Directorate in Mahabaleshwar as an Excellence Center. Additionally, a second Madhuban Honey Park has been set up in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali, Mumbai, and was also inaugurated recently. Visitors will be able to gather information about honey production at one place. Due to the high number of monkeys in the park, the location is being decided by considering potential issues during the monsoon season and the availability of flowers or nectar. Skilled manpower is available in Mahabaleshwar. Since there is no skilled manpower in the park, tribal women who need employment will be trained and appointed.

"The first Honey Park in the country has been established in Mahabaleshwar to promote honey production, research, and village industries within the state. This park will serve as a hub for all information related to honey production and bees," said Bipin Jagtap, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Maharashtra Khadi and Village Industries Board.

Honey village

In May 2022, the Board's Directorate of Beekeeping Industry established the first "honey village," or "Madhache Gaav," in the village of Manghar, near Mahabaleshwar. Patgaon, in the Kolhapur district, was the next to be established. Since the opening of Manghar's "honey village," the community has seen over a million visitors annually, greatly boosting the locals' revenue.

The Mahabaleshwar area is known for strawberries, and Bhilar has become famous as the village of books. Now, Manghar in this same Mahabaleshwar area is known as the honey village in the country. The innovative Honey Village initiative has been implemented by the State Khadi and Village Industries Board, and Manghar village near Mahabaleshwar was selected for this. Manghar, located 8 kilometers from Mahabaleshwar under a mountain ridge, is surrounded by dense forest, and flowers bloom here all year round. Beekeeping is practiced in the village, and bee pollination increases crop productivity. Eighty percent of the people in the village are engaged in beekeeping.