Small producers in Cuenca bet on mead

Producers from the rural parish of Sayausí, in the Cuenca canton, received training in the production of mead, as a value-added option for their honey production.

Mead or honey liquor is low in alcohol content. The Mayans gave it medicinal properties.

Belonging to the Los Chacarreros Association, these producers who are dedicated to the cultivation of vegetables, production of guinea pigs and beekeeping, today learn a simple recipe that includes pure honey, pollen and water and the end result is a fermented drink of honey from bee with low alcohol content.

Mead or mead is an alcoholic beverage with a concentration that varies from 4% to 18%. For the Mayan peoples, of what is now Central America, this was a sacred drink used in religious ceremonies and they also considered that it had medicinal properties.

Los productores ecuatorianos no están solos en su aprendizaje. Ellos reciben asesoría técnica del Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG) desde hace dos años, con el fin de obtener mejores ingresos.

Esta asociación productiva se ha capacitado previamente en la captura de colmenas, manejo de colmenas, cosecha de miel. Trabajan de manera limpia, sin el uso de químicos y comercializan de manera directa en ferias de productores para mejorar sus ingresos.

Gilberto Guerrero, un adulto mayor que forma parte de este gremio, actualmente posee siete colmenas en producción, de las que obtiene la miel para la elaboración de esta bebida.

“Para elaborar este vino de miel colocamos la miel pura con agua y con polen o levadura seca; después tenemos que sellarlo y guardarlo en un lugar obscuro, fresco y seco por un mes”, explicó Guerrero.

A pound of honey is marketed at around 5 dollars and with this same amount, about two liters of mead can be made, whose liter costs approximately 7 dollars, which would represent a profit of more than 200% for beekeepers.