Training the next generation of Amazonian beekeepers and leaders

Across the Amazon, stingless bees are far more than pollinators. For many Indigenous communities, they are connected to medicine, food, forest health, and cultural traditions that have been passed down for generations. Therefore, protecting these bees means protecting both ecosystems and living knowledge systems.

At Amazon Research Internacional, our work focuses on strengthening the capacity of Indigenous communities to lead stingless bee conservation themselves. Rather than bringing in outside solutions, we focus on sharing tools, training, and scientific knowledge that communities can adapt to their own landscapes and traditions.

Local schools have embraced learning about stingless bees after seeing stingless bee training in the community.

Our training programs are designed specifically for Indigenous communities and intentionally welcome women and youth. Meliponiculture leaders, both female and male beekeepers with extensive experience, travel for hours by river and forest trails to reach remote communities. There, they organize hands-on workshops and follow-up visits with families and community groups.

These field trainings focus on practical skills: improving hive health, managing pests, increasing honey production, and learning how to duplicate colonies. One of the unique aspects of stingless beekeeping is that colonies can be divided and propagated. This allows communities to expand their hives without cutting down trees to collect wild nests, helping protect the Amazon while strengthening livelihoods.

Field demonstrations are central to our approach. While we share theoretical information, most learning happens directly at the hive. Participants open colonies, examine brood structures, identify problems, and practice techniques together.

Dr. Cesar leading training with stingless bee leaders

Engaging communities in discussions about stingless bees and their role in ecosystems and in traditional knowledge.

We also place strong emphasis on cultural accessibility. All of our training materials are being developed in Indigenous languages, including Kukama-kukamiria and Ashaninka, something that had never previously been done in Peru for stingless bee training. This ensures that knowledge can circulate within communities and across generations.

The results have been inspiring. Indigenous women and youth are increasingly taking leadership roles in managing stingless bee sanctuaries alongside men. Each sanctuary helps regenerate approximately 20,000 square meters of rainforest through pollination and forest restoration efforts.

Unexpectedly, the work has also sparked enthusiasm in local schools. Teachers and students in the first Indigenous schools in Peru to integrate stingless beekeeping into educational activities have begun embracing the practice, and some youth are even dreaming of forming after-school “bee clubs.” We support these schools and are exploring how this model could expand into a broader educational program.

This work is shifting who leads conservation. Communities are no longer simply the subjects of research, they are becoming the teachers, researchers, and stewards shaping the future of the Amazon.

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Artwork from some inspired students