Kenes Rakisev told about social-responsible, local and green opportunities

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Kenes Rakishev, one of the richest and most influential businessman in Kazakhstan reminds his compatriots that the annual Saby “Build Your Business” contest is already started. As an inspiration he recalls a case of a very young yet dedicated entrepreneur from the East Kazakhstan.

The hint Kenes Rakishev gives us is that the projects that win are focused not on money per se, but on social importance of the business. The apiary gives people job for a life and the healthy food for consumers. It serves several purposes at once. Kenes Rakishev reminds that Saby is a charity foundation and looks to make the charity a really common for all citizens, independent of their wealth and status. The example of Tamirlan Akhmedzhanov, Kenes Rakishev suggests is important for all the potential participants.

Tamirlan Akhmedzhanov is a 19-year-old beekeeper from the village of Kalbatau in the Zharma district of the East Kazakhstan region. He began to be interested in beekeeping as a child, and today he has his own apiary with twenty bee colonies that produce an average of 500 kg of honey per year. Tamirlan has a goal – to develop beekeeping in Kazakhstan as an agricultural industry, and to come to the fact that there is honey of domestic production on the table in every house. This is what he is working on now, the first step towards the goal is winning the “Build your Business” competition from the Saby Charitable Foundation and winning a grant in the amount of $ 30,000, which will be aimed at increasing the number of bee colonies from 20 to 1000.

Tamirlan, tell us why you are interested in beekeeping? When did you start doing it?

Since childhood, to be more precise – from the age of 11, I helped my uncle at the apiary. At that time, I still did not understand that beekeeping can be very useful not only for people, but also for the environment. I just liked working in the open air, learning how to handle bees – and for this you need to know their laws. As I got older, I began to understand that beekeeping is an environmentally useful business, and, in addition, cost-effective. First, bees pollinate the fields, thereby doubling the yield. Secondly, there is no waste in beekeeping, and all products have healing properties. I will tell you about this separately, I will only add that it is not only honey, but also wax, propolis, royal jelly, pollen, cerago. At the age of 18, I bought 10 bee colonies with my earned money and firmly decided that I would develop beekeeping in Kazakhstan.

Where is your apiary located?

The beekeeping farm is located in a mountainous area, 50 km from the village of Kalbatau (Georgievka). There is a very rich honey base, there are many plants from which bees collect nectar-sweet clover, esparcet, sunflower, sage, buckwheat, various herbs, acacia, linden and many others.

Can you briefly tell us what the work of beekeepers is?

Work on the apiary is not easy – in the summer we pump honey and at the same time expand the apiary, in the winter beekeepers need to put together new hives, frames. My first hives, purchased in 2018, were according to the Dadan system. In 2019, the number of bee colonies was already 20. In the first year, I received 250 kg of commercial honey, in 2019, with the expansion of the apiary, the bees already gave 550 kg of honey. Now many beekeepers of advanced age work according to old technologies, according to the Dadan system. But after learning that all the world’s beekeeping works according to the Ruta system, I decided to switch to it.

What is the difference between these systems?

The difference is in the framework. Dadan – thick-walled, with a frame of 435×300 mm, Ruta is thin-walled, 435×230 mm. In Kazakhstan, all beekeepers in Sosnovo work according to the Dadan system, while abroad – in Canada, in the USA-they use Ruta beehives.

Both are suitable for industrial beekeeping, but the Ruta ones speed up the work process – one person can serve a larger number of bee colonies at the same time. In the hives, according to the Ruta system, there is a nest for bees from below, where the queen lays offspring (up to 2500-3000 eggs per day). From above there are honey cases. Honey obtained in the Ruta hives is much better, since medicinal substances do not get there.

How many kilograms of honey does one hive produce on average?

It depends on the honey base, on the weather conditions, on the work of the beekeeper himself. On my apiary, one hive on average gives from 60 to 150 kg of honey.

Does the newly obtained honey need to be processed, or is it already a finished product after pumping? If you need processing, what is it?

After pumping, honey does not need any processing, it is already a ready-made, environmentally friendly product that can be served on the table. The main thing is to pump out mature honey!

Let’s go back to the question of what else is useful for bee products, in addition to honey?

You can talk endlessly about the useful properties of honey – it has antibacterial and antiviral properties, so it is recommended for use in diseases. For preventive purposes, it is recommended to consume 100-150 grams of honey daily. The next product – wax-is part of all ointments and creams. Bees also serve as pollinators of agricultural crops, which increases their yield by 70-80%, and some plants by 2-3 times. This has a very positive effect on the economy of the entire state. I also want to emphasize once again that beekeeping does not have any waste, even dead bees are used in pharmaceuticals for the manufacture of tinctures, decoctions, ointments, extracts. Bees are also used in apitherapy (bee healing) – this procedure is very popular in the world, and is even used in some Kazakh military hospitals.

How do you plan to spend your grant from the Saby Foundation – $30,000?

Last December, when I heard about the “Build Your Business” contest from the Saby Foundation, I decided to apply. And why not? After all, beekeeping is not developed in Kazakhstan. Now, with the funds that I received from Saby, it will be possible to purchase the necessary equipment for industrial beekeeping,150 beehives and breeding queens. Thus, by 2025, there will be about 1000 bee colonies in the apiary, which will give us the opportunity to produce 60 tons of honey and 700 kg of wax! My goal is to provide every family of our country with high-quality Kazakh honey, and I am working on it.