Bee-coming beekeepers: A qualitative study on changes in human-bee relationships through the adoption of beekeeping by honey hunters in Ceará, Northeast Brazil

Abstract Across the Global South, beekeeping is celebrated as a sustainable livelihood strategy that encourages environmental conservation. Over the past 30 years, beekeeping and honey production in Northeast Brazil have greatly expanded. Through this process, traditional methods of collecting honey from wild bee hives by honey hunters ( meleiros ) – methods often seen as destructive – have been replaced by the cultivation of bees in artificial wooden hives by beekeepers. This study explores the transformation of human-bee relationships in the context of the adoption of contemporary beekeeping methods by meleiros in Sertão Central, Ceará, Northeast Brazil. Semi-structured interviews with beekeepers and technical experts, as well as participant observation during honey collections and apiary visits, provide insight into human-bee and human-environment relations of honey harvesters in Sertão Central. Two meleiro archetypes and two beekeeper archetypes, based on perceptions and actions toward the environment, are identified, and the archetypes are used to describe different transition pathways from meleiro to beekeeper. Different meleiro-bee and beekeeper-bee relations are also discussed and a more nuanced understanding of the semi-domestication of bees is presented. The transition pathways and the diverse human-bee relations emergent in the study suggest that pro-environmental attitudes and actions are developed through a honey-harvesting ecosystem that extends beyond beekeeping programs to also include technical courses, beekeeper-to-beekeeper networks, and personal experience and observations. The study highlights the need for more nuanced approaches to assess honey cultivation practices and suggests that training in agroecology can promote beekeeper-bee relations that support the mutual flourishing of people and bees.