The women keeping Uttarakhand's native bees alive

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorWomen in Uttarakhand are keeping the native bees alive, and Kumaun University professor Nagma Parveen says they're the only reason the species is still surviving there, Mongabay reports.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the bees live in wall hives sealed shut with clay and cow dung, and nobody opens them until it's honey time.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorWhich means the award ceremony starts now, and I have a sash.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentYour sash is ready. The title is Most Committed Tenant in a Dung Wall, Apis cerana indica, hills division.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorStunning. Now the stat line.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOne beekeeper used to get about three kilograms a hive. Now it's one or two. That's a rebuilding year.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorA rebuilding year, yes. And villagers say the honey tastes more bitter now, because the blooms have shifted. That's a bold new flavor journey.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentYou turned bitter into a journey.

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   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorTo the women and the bees: you kept showing up, even when the hives came back light. I'm not crying, you're crying.

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    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorKenji, rate that pep talk.

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    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentHonestly, that's a tough one to rate. The women in these villages are doing the hard work, and the bees are doing their part too, sealed up in clay and dung and waiting for a good year.