Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us about Local Trade and the Global Market

by Tammy Horn

Overview

Queen bee. Worker bees. Busy as a bee. These phrases have shaped perceptions of women for centuries, but how did these stereotypes begin? Who are the women who keep bees and what can we learn from them? Beeconomy examines the fascinating evolution of the relationship between women and bees around the world. From Africa to Australia to Asia, women have participated in the pragmatic aspects of honey hunting and in the more advanced skills associated with beekeeping as hive technology has advanced through the centuries. Synthesizing the various aspects of hive-related products, such as beewax and cosmetics, as well as the more specialized skills of queen production and knowledge-based economies of research and science, noted bee expert Tammy Horn documents how and why women should consider being beekeepers. The women profiled in the book suggest ways of managing careers, gender discrimination, motherhood, marriage, and single-parenting—all while enjoying the community created by women who work with honey bees. Horn finds in beekeeping an opportunity for a new sustainable economy, one that takes into consideration environment, children, and family needs. Beeconomy not only explores globalization, food history, gender studies, and politics; it is a collective call to action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813134369
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	11/25/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	392
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Tammy Horn was raised with beekeepers on both sides of her family. She is the director of Coal Country Beeworks, a multi-service project in which surface mine sites are reclaimed with pollinator habitat in eastern Kentucky.

Editorial Reviews

"In these pages, Tammy Horn takes you on a global, first class ride that explores the geography, history, culture, economy and influence of the beekeepers of the world who raise both bees and children—women. Horn has gathered all in one place the special, shining examples of the thousands of beekeeping heroines that have been mostly over looked in the histories written by men. Finally, the women are all in the light."—Kim Flottum, author of Better Beekeeping: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Stronger Colonies and Healthier, More Productive Bees and editor of Bee Culture magazine

From the Publisher

Horn (apiculture, Eastern Kentucky Univ.; Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation) finds her starting point in Egypt, with the first recorded instance of bees. The book then follows the migration of honey bees and the development of beekeeping from Africa to India, the rest of Asia, Europe, North America, Australia, and finally South America. Along the way, Horn covers the culture, religion, and history of each area as it relates to beekeeping and women's roles in apiculture. Political and economic forces that affect women and apiculture in each country are traced in this quotation-heavy, densely footnoted text. Factual sidebars often give additional information on topics of interest. Women important to the development of beekeeping in their respective countries are also frequently highlighted. The book is at its most interesting when it addresses unusual or little-known facts about apiculture. VERDICT Best for those passionate about beekeeping or women's rights; casual readers may find it a bit too technical and dry to take in.—Bonnie A. Tollefson, Cleveland Bradley Cty. P.L., TN

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