Producers
AMMECH — Asociación de Mujeres Meliponicultoras Ecológicas del Chaco
women producers’ association · meliponiculture association · honey producer collective
45 communities across the municipalities of Monteagudo and Villa Vaca Guzmán, Chaco Chuquisaqueño, Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia
AMMECH is a women-led association of 315 meliponiculturists in Bolivia’s Chaco Chuquisaqueño. Members care for native stingless bees and produce melipona honey and other hive products through a decentralized network of communities in the municipalities of Monteagudo and Villa Vaca Guzmán, Chuquisaca.
About the Producer
A little history
AMMECH was formed by 315 women producers involved in meliponiculture initiatives in the Chaco Chuquisaqueño. The association was created to continue field-school training and manage a collection and processing facility for melipona honey and other hive products. In 2024, FAO reported that its formalization with the Government of Chuquisaca was still in progress.
How They Work
Beekeeping in practice
AMMECH is a decentralized association of women producers. Members receive and share technical training through community field schools, maintain stingless-bee colonies, and are supported by a shared collection and processing centre for honey and other hive products. Public reporting also documents participation in fairs and product diversification.
Monteagudo and Villa Vaca Guzmán, Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia
AMMECH’s 315 producers are represented across 45 communities in these two municipalities.
Serranía del Iñao National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area, Chuquisaca, Bolivia
Slow Food’s Presidium description states that the relevant native stingless bees thrive in this protected, biodiverse territory where the Gran Chaco, Bolivian-Tucuman Forest, and Chaco Serrano meet. This supports regional ecological context, not a claim that every AMMECH hive is within the protected area.
Cochabamba, Bolivia
AMMECH participated in the FEXCO 2023 exposition in Cochabamba, a documented promotional and sales-facing event rather than a producer-base or harvest-origin claim.
Products & Specimens
What connects to this producer
Products listed by the Producer are kept separate from specimens held in the Collection.
Miel melipona / native stingless-bee honey
Documented origin: Chaco Chuquisaqueño, Bolivia
Origin detail: Region
FAO identifies AMMECH with the promotion of miel melipona produced by native stingless bees. Slow Food identifies AMMECH as the association of 315 women producers in the Native Stingless Bees of Chaco Chuquisaqueño Presidium. No product-specific public evidence found establishes a narrower harvest community or a single floral source.
People
People connected to the work
- Ana Vivanco President of AMMECH
- María Méndez Meliponiculture facilitator and leading producer
Practices
How they work
- Members practice meliponiculture: the keeping and management of native stingless bees.
- Traditional knowledge is combined with modern hive-management methods, including wooden hive boxes and training-based techniques.
- AMMECH has a collection and processing centre intended to improve honey quality and consistency.
- The association’s broader product activity includes honey and value-added hive-product goods such as soaps, candles, creams, lip products, shampoos, syrups, and pastilles, as described in partner reporting.