Wild Honey Of ‘Apis Dorsata’
Nature, first prize stories
1987
Mani Lal (63) collects the wild honey of 'apis dorsata', a giant bee. He is the head of a Gurung village in the foothills of the world's highest peaks. As did his father, a shaman priest, he travels to the Himalayan ravines every spring and autumn to collect the wild honey of 'apis dorsata', a giant bee. The last of his village to have mastery of the technique, Mani Lal uses a 50m-long bamboo ladder, secured only by a cord around his waist. Aided by an experienced team he maneuvers the 2.75m hive until it breaks of the rock face and falls into a basket.
Photo Credit: Eric Valli
Eric Valli is a French photographer and film director. Valli spent most of his career as a geographical photographer working for the National Geographic Magazine and The Sunday Times, capturing more inaccessible locations in the world on camera.
He specializes in mountain scenery and is an expert on the Himalaya Mountains, and in 1999 directed the adventure film Himalaya about survival in the Himalayas starring Thilen Londup which became the first Nepalese film to be nominated for a Best Foreign Film Award at the Oscars.
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