PEASANTS AND BEEKEEPING: A CASE STUDY IN THE COLOMBIAN MASSIF

Abstract

The productive systems developed by peasant communities, are characterized by a wide network of social relationships, which are intertwined by practical knowledge. Therefore, the objective of this article was to analyze the process of emergence and establishment of beekeeping activity in a group of farmers from south-western Colombia, grouped in the Association of Beekeepers of the Colombian Massif - APIMACIZO. The applied methodology was oral history, using oral accounts as a methodological resource. Within the results it is evident the connection of different sectors to the beekeeping practice, as well as the intervention of some official sectors in the formation process of the Association. The accounts provided by some of the members of APIMACIZO made it possible to understand the coordination between different sectors (church, family, neighbors) in the life of the peasantry of this association with the apiculture practice; the coordination was possible by means of knowledge. It is from knowledge in beekeeping that bonds of friendship, neighborhood, deep friendship and family relationships were consolidated.