Author:
Swastika Thapa, Ankit Ojha, Suryamani Dhungana, Roji Dura, Anita Pulami Magar

Doi: 10.26480/faer.02.2024.99.104

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Honey hunting is an archaic tradition among rural people that, now, has acquired tremendous attention because of its cultural and ecological significance. This research is, thus, conducted from February to June 2023 in four municipalities of Lamjung (Marsyangdi, Dordi, Dudhpokhari, Kolashothar) with a sample size of 60 through simple random sampling. The primary data were collected with the help of field observation, personal interview with hunters, FGD & KII whereas, for the secondary data collection, relevant literature were reviewed and topic related publication from various institution were assessed. Data were analysed using MS-Excel and SPSS. As per the findings, most of the honey hunters were not involved in beekeeping practices. The average number of cliffs hunted was 9.68 per season per group. The mad honey was harvested in two season of the year: Spring and Autumn. The average yield of honey per colony was 10- 50 kg per year depending on the season while the average amount of honey harvested per group per year was 700.33 kg depending upon the season whereas the average price of mad honey in the study site was Rs.1875 per kg. The Benefit-Cost ratio was found to be 4.01. The bee population was seen to be decreasing however, the frequency of honey hunting has increased from the past years, and thus, the amount of honey harvested from the cliff has been increasing in last five years. Majority of the honey hunters were benefitted from the tourism growth concomitant with the honey hunting while some reported the mad honey sale to be more reliable business for the livelihood.