By Balqis Jamaludin & Kamaliza Kamaruddin
MARANG (Terengganu): “We will return 10 times the sum paid if it can be proven that our honey is not original.”
That’s the promise to customers by Big Bee Honey Sdn Bhd if any of them can prove that the kelulut (stingless bee) honey sold at the company’s mini honey gallery in Kampung Jambu Bongkok here is an imitation.
Managing director Nor Ehsan Abdul Rahman said he dares to make the promise because the kelulut honey produced by his company is harvested from 500 to 1,000 stingless bee colonies at his four farms in the east coast.
He is one of the Bumiputera entrepreneurs to have ventured into commercial kelulut bee farming in Terengganu in 2012.
The company’s mini honey gallery in Kampung Jambu Bongkok is the first of its kind in the east coast.
Nor Ehsan, who hails from Kampung Merchang, said his company has the capacity to produce between 150 kg and 200 kg of kelulut honey valued at over RM50,000 every season.
“Kelulut (stingless bee) farming is a business that has become a source of wealth for agro entrepreneurs over the past 10 years because the market demand for the honey is high as many people know of its goodness to health.
“Furthermore, it is not too difficult to breed the kelulut. A little knowledge and a good marketing strategy are sufficient,” he told Bernama at his mini gallery.
Nor Ehsan said he developed an interest in the kelulut honey industry when he was just 15 because many people in his village in Terengganu were natural honey collectors.
“Once, after having sat for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination, I managed to collect 20 kg of natural honey. As the elders say, it was a windfall for a youth.
“Since then, I harboured the ambition to be a stingless bee farmer and ventured into the business on a part-time basis in 2007. With the savings from my profits, I started a full-time business, resigning from my job at a bank,” said Nor Ehsan who has availed himself of guidance from the Agriculture Department.
After making a name for him in bee farming, Nor Ehsan realised that kelulut farming has great potential after exchanging information with an entrepreneur from Thailand.
Initially, he bought two sets of kelulut logs (hives) from a Chinese entrepreneur for RM3,800 so that he can gain the skills in the right and productive way while collaborating with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) in Serdang, Selangor.
“That was how I started the business. I have since been seeking knowledge in the country and abroad to grow my business, including producing downstream products such as soap.
“Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah), we are also in the process of obtaining the Malaysia Halal Certification from the Department of Islamic Development and the MeSTI food safety programme of the Health Ministry,” he said.
Nor Ehsan has invested almost RM1 million in purchasing honey-processing machines, adding on hives at the four farms and providing various facilities for visitors at the mini gallery.
He has been creative in placing the hives in different farms to produce a variety of the honey, which has earned the interest of his customers.
“Only Big Bee Honey produces a variety of kelulut honey, such as lada hitam (black pepper), kelapa (coconut), akasia (acacia), pokok hutan (jungle tree), jambu air (rose apple), seribu bunga (thousand flowers) and dusun buah (orchard), all of which have their clients due to the unique taste that comes with the flowering seasons.
“These varieties of honey are not available all the time. Their availability depends on the flowering seasons and the wild honey from the remote jungle, such as tualang from the Kenyir Lake,” said Nor Ehsan who has eight full-time staff.
Nor Ehsan said he hopes that more youths will take up the business and the relevant government agencies will remain proactive in empowering the kelulut honey industry which he feels has great potential to be a driver of economic growth.
He also hopes that his mini gallery will be listed as a must-visit tourist destination in Terengganu, saying this can help boost the agro-tourism sector in the state. – Bernama
