Tuesday, October 25, 2005

SWEET SUCCESS OF PER

SWEET SUCCESS OF PERSISTENCE

The adage "where there's a will, there's a way" aptly describes 41-year-old Lee Sow Hwa. A former plumber, the Kedah-born Lee had wanted to be in the honey-producing business ever since he was in school.

"I had always wanted to have my own apiaries but as fate had it, I became a plumber," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

Nevertheless, his determination led him to acquire bee-keeping and honey-harvesting skills from Malacca-based Soon Lee B-B Town Sdn Bhd, one of the countries biggest honey producers.

"After obtaining the necessary know-how, I had the problem of getting a suitable location for the apiaries."

Lee said he then made checks on the availability of Gelam trees, known for their musky-scented flowers that attract honey bees.

"I found a large track of this species in Jambu Bongkok here. So I finally started this business two months ago," he said.

There are only two places in Malaysia where the paperbark Gelam (melaleuca cajaputi) trees are abundant along the coastal areas of Malacca and in Terengganu.

Strategically located along the Kuala Terengganu-Kuantan road in Jambu Bongkok, Lee's apiary has become a major attraction among the villagers as well as motorists

Lee is assisted by his son Chee Wui, 16 and daughter Rui Ying, 15, who together maintain 50 beehives with each hive containing more than 6,000 honey bees of the less-aggressive Italian strain.

Despite his business being at an early stage, Lee has been able to come out with 23 types of products. They include pure honey, royal jelly, ginseng honey, ginger honey, durian-flavoured honey and gelam-flavoured honey.

"This is only the beginning. I'm now raising my own queen bees, which otherwise costs RM200 each at the farm in Malacca, as well as drones and worker bees," he said. "I will gradually expand this bee house,"

Lee said queen bees have a lifespan of seven years while the drones and worker bees live up to 50 days.

His initial target was to have 500 apiaries on the 0.6-hectare rented land in Jambu Bongkok.


"It is not as easy as it looks. We have to control the wasps, the bees' number one enemy. They attack the beehives and kill the bees for food."

But with the growing consciousness on health food among people, Lee is confident that the demand for honey from his apiary will also increase.

"In my business, I am emulating the bees building their hives. Patience reaps rewards," he said.

New Straits Times Online, Tuesday 25 Oktober 2005

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