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From a Single Spark to a Golden Harvest: The Remarkable Journey of Sied Mohammed By: Habtom Tesfamichael On the scenic outskirts of Adi- Keyh, the administrative center of the Adi-Keyh sub-zone, lies an expansive apiary that defies the rugged appearance of the surrounding landscape. To an untrained eye, this stretch of land might seem ordinary, but for a visionary entrepreneur, it is a sanctuary of industry. This is the domain of Sied Mohammed, a man whose dedication, foresight, and unwavering work ethic have turned a spark of inspiration into a thriving apicultural enterprise. Today, Sied manages a collection of over 130 modern beehives—a journey that began with a single, wild colony. Beekeeping is far more than a business in Eritrea; it is an ancient craft woven into the nation’s cultural, social, and economic fabric. For centuries, Eritrean farmers have harvested honey, valuing it not only as a natural sweetener but for its medicinal properties and its role in traditional celebrations and religious ceremonies. Historically, however, the sector relied on traditional cylindrical hives fashioned from mud, stones, and straw. While these methods are a proud part of local heritage, they yielded limited harvests and made hive management labor-intensive. In recent years, the Eritrean Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has spearheaded a strategic drive to modernize the sector. By introducing modern frame hives and promoting scientific management techniques, the MoA aims to capitalize on Eritrea’s diverse microclimates. The country’s topography—ranging from cool highland plateaus to subtropical midlands and coastal plains—offers a year-round “bloom calendar,” providing bees with a continuous source of nectar. Sied Mohammed embodies this shift: a forward-thinking farmer who recognized that the “liquid gold” of his region was a resource waiting to be professionally tapped. Sied’s transformation into a master beekeeper began in 2017 while watching a documentary on Eri-TV featuring a successful bee farmer. “I was deeply inspired by that program,” Sied recalls. “I learned that bee farming would not only fulfill my goal of self-reliance, but that my local environment was perfectly suited for it. I knew right then that I wanted to pursue this path.” Sied approached the business methodically. To learn the trade from the ground up, he reached out to an experienced beekeeper in Adi-Keyh, offering his manual labor in exchange for knowledge. For several months, Sied worked as a dedicated apprentice, studying hive management, bee behavior, and the seasonal cycles of local vegetation. Armed with this practical experience, Sied captured a migrant wild bee colony and settled them in his backyard. Demonstrating confidence in his long-term plan, he invested in several modern beehives before he even owned enough colonies to fill them. A favorable rainy season that year provided lush flora, helping his fledgling venture take off. Initially engaged in traditional crop farming, Sied realized that beekeeping offered superior sustainability and higher profit margins with less environmental strain, prompting him to pivot entirely toward apiculture. To build on his practical foundation, Sied sought formal technical training through the Ministry of Agriculture. The MoA courses covered advanced techniques such as queen rearing and colony splitting—a scientific method used to multiply hives by dividing a healthy, populous colony. “I quickly expanded that first colony into five,” Sied explains. “From there, it was a matter of consistency. By 2021, my count grew from 10 to 20 hives, and today, I manage over 130.” As his operation grew, Sied adopted migratory beekeeping to prevent his colonies from exhausting local nectar sources during dry periods. Moving his hives across different ecological zones to follow flowering seasons yielded immediate results: last year, Sied harvested 25 quintals (2,500 kilograms) of honey. Thanks to his migratory strategy, he now harvests twice a year. In the early days, Sied relied on donkeys and camels for transport. As his earnings grew, he reinvested his profits and purchased a pickup truck, allowing him to move his 130- plus hives across the region safely and efficiently. The enterprise has also become a family effort. Sied’s younger brothers have joined the business, establishing self-sufficiency by manufacturing their own modern hives rather than purchasing them from commercial vendors. This vertical integration has reduced overhead costs and allowed them to customize equipment for local bee varieties. For Sied, the mission extends beyond personal success. By increasing local supply, he hopes to make honey more affordable for everyday consumers. “I’m glad to see honey becoming more accessible in the market,” he says. “It should be a common household staple for every Eritrean family, given its health benefits.” Sied has also diversified into selling bee colonies to aspiring beekeepers, selling approximately 50 colonies over the past year. His technical proficiency now allows him to perform the delicate task of splitting up to 15 colonies in a single night. Through his journey from an apprentice to an established apiculturist, Sied Mohammed demonstrates how technical training, market adaptability, and sustained effort can turn local natural resources into a thriving enterprise.