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dripping with honey. the guide whips out her knife and slices a portion of the honeycomb for us to taste

The next village down from Kg. Sumangkap is Gombizou. As we drove in, there was a little wooden stall by the side of the dirt road selling bottles of honey. There didn’t seem to be any men around. Only women and children around. Whilst chatting with the ladies at the stall, a representative signaled to us to follow her up the lane to the honeybee farm. This cooperative is managed by the women folk and has been in operation since 1991 as a form of alternative income to alleviate the people above the poverty line. Today, the villagers actively work on expanding their bee farm and promoting its produce. A small bottle costs RM8 and entrance fee costs RM3 per visitor. The honey collecting process is fascinating. The honeybees build their beehives in white boxes each with 7 frames within. The frames are slotted vertically and the bees build their honeycombs onto the frames.

one great way of cleansing the colon is by mixing a spoonful of pure honey with a spoon of apple cider vinegar and a spoonful of psyllium husk (this can be bought at organic stores & some pharmacies), dilute it in a glass of water - and take it every morning

A small entrance at the side of the box allows worker bees to leave whenever. Our host showed us the method of harvesting the honey without being stung. First she ‘doped’ the bees by smoking the bee hut. Having waited a few minutes, she carefully removed the top of the box and gently lifted a frame. The honeycomb looked delicious enough to just dig into. She brought out a knife and plate, carved a sizeable chunk from the comb, began to cut it into bitesize cubes and handed it to me. The rich, golden liquid was just too tempting but the crème was the honeycomb. The smooth texture with a tint of crystallized honey gave a fine edge that was just divine! I guess one of Adrian’s highlights bringing guests to this village was that he got to taste it too! And lots too may I add!

It really was a shame that I didn’t have the space in my rucksack to stash a few bottles. The honey should be consumed within 3 months from date of collection as no preservative is added.

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