Country

Belarus

Belarus has one of the oldest living beekeeping stories in Europe. In the forests and wetlands of Polesia, families still maintain the tradition of tree beekeeping—keeping bees in hollowed living trees or elevated log hives instead of only in modern box hives. Belarusian and Polish tree-beekeeping culture was placed on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020, and Belarusian tradition keepers say the practice has continued in Polesia for at least 500 years. Modern Belarusian beekeeping is much broader than that old craft: official reporting says the country had about 149,300 colonies and produced 1,875 tonnes of honey in 2025. New projects such as APIMIR in Zhlobin District combine breeding, education, equipment making and bee tourism. So Belarus gives HC two parallel stories: a forest tradition measured in centuries and a modern rural industry experimenting with technology and training.