Traditional Beekeeping (part I). Традыцыйнае палескае бортніцтва (частка І): выдзёбваньне новай калоды.
Regrettably the Belarusian tradition of using a hollowed-out section of tree trunk (калода – “kaloda”) as a bee hive has faded. However, the tradition remains alive in the southern wetlands region of Polesia along the Pripet River (Прыпяць – “Prypjats'”). Beekeepers place each kaloda, called борць (borts) in the Stolin District where I do much of my photography, either in pine or oak trees in the forest or in their garden. A kaloda weighs several hundred pounds, so hoisting it into a tree requires deft teamwork as well as strength. Some beekeepers maintain kalody (bortsi) hollowed out by their forebears a century or more ago.
Here a beekeeper (a math teacher in the local school) continues the arduous work of hollowing out a section of trunk.
Tsjerablichy 2009. Цераблічы 2009 год.
