KOTA KINABALU: When a freelance photographer made a photo essay about harvesting raw honey six years ago for Berita Harian, he never thought he would be part of them now.
Lano Lan, 47, even won the Journalism Award for News Stringer category for the story titled "Madu tolutu kampung poturidong" at the Shell Press Awards in 2015.
"I started to get involved in the harvesting activities last year with the group I interviewed.
"At the time, I was just following them to document how the work was being done. But, coincidentally, they needed someone to help with the process and I became an impromptu honey collector," he said, adding he was no longer stringing for NSTP.
Lano added the work usually requires a team of six people with two of them climbing up the tree to collect honey, another two holding ropes and the rest helping to pass down the honey and process it on the spot.
He said his role as the one who squeezes beehives to extract honey is equally challenging as the bees would still be around while he is getting the job done.
The nature of the job is completely different from photography but it is rewarding as raw honey has high demand.
With a tagline "Ko mau madu kah?" (do you want honey?) used in social media, they can sell it at RM100 for a 500ml bottle.
"Instead of having middlemen to sell our products, our team members prefer to sell them directly to ensure our customers receive the (raw) quality honey from us.
"There is currently no plans to sell honey outside of Sabah, which will make it unique for outsiders who want to try authentic products in the state," he said.
Normally, they will harvest honey between Feb and May, as well as between July and Nov at Long Pasia, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, Kiulu and Ranau.
The team believes that to ensure continuous supply of honey, they have to practice sustainable methods by getting only the required amount of honey, leaving out the bee larvae and pollen.
Lano has recently started a Youtube Channel to document honey-harvesting activities which can help the public understand that raw honey involves real hard work compared to processed products in the market.
The channel, which is available at https://youtu.be/aHMsuk7G6pw will include more educational clips about honey in the near future.
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