Poland and Belarus

Inscribed in 2020 (15.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Tree beekeeping culture includes knowledge, skills, practices, traditions, rituals and beliefs connected to wild bees breeding in tree hives or log hives located in forest areas. Tree beekeepers take care of bees in a special way by trying to recreate the primeval living conditions in tree hives without interfering with the natural life cycle of the bees. Tree beekeepers have no goal of intensifying honey production, which is one of the features that differentiates them from beekeepers. Tree beekeeping therefore requires advanced skills and knowledge of traditional methods and tools. Tree beekeepers are lifelong learners: through direct contact with swarms and the natural environment, they constantly acquire new knowledge about the life of the bees and the ecosystem. There are also numerous social practices resulting from the practice as well as culinary and traditional medicine traditions. As in the past, the transmission of the element takes place mainly in tree beekeepers’ families and through the act of brotherhoods. Nowadays, however, workshops offer another mode of transmission during which participants learn from each other through group activities. Tree beekeeping fosters a sense of community belonging and a shared awareness of our responsibility towards the environment.