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Abu Dhabi: Ali Salem Al Dhanahani has turned his property at the foot of a Fujairah mountain into an apiary and is always on hand to gather the honey produced.
"The land is vast with mountains, valleys, and around 30,000 Sidir trees in addition to Simr trees and various wild bushes," Al Dhanahani told Gulf News.
"You can find it easily. It's the land behind Dibba Police Station," he said.
Al Dhanahani is an employee at Abu Dhabi immigration department but he always finds time to look after his bees.
He harvests Sidr honey in November and Simr honey in June.
Al Dhanahani inherited his business from his father and developed it further. His land is a protected area.
There are around 600 to 700 beehives on his land and around 1,000 hives which he has farmed.
He is teaching his sons, Ahmad, 10 and Abdullah, 14, the tricks of the trade.
The lack of rain has affected the production of honey as the tree and flowers are not blooming.
"I started planting the land in 1987 and I also added pools."
Searching for wild beehives is not an easy job.
"You could fall from the mountains. Many amateurs have died searching for wild beehives," he said.
Al Dhanahani has become immune to bee stings as he has been stung so many times.
The best honey is produced from Sidr and Simr trees.
"One kilo of wild honey could fetch Dh1,000. A kilo of processed honey sells for between Dh200 to Dh300," he said.
His yearly income from honey production is between Dh200,000 to Dh500,000.
There is an unwritten code in this business as there are thousands of people working in this field.
"When I find a wild beehive I put a sign next to it to show that it is owned by somebody," he said.
This sign could be just a wild plant. If a hive is still taken by someone else then an elder is called to give his judgement.
Health benefits
"It is known that honey is good for people's health. In past times every household kept some honey. It was used for various ailments such as coughs or colds."
He also added it was a natural sexual stimulant.
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