Shawan farmer and "Queen Bee" Zhang Lamei's sweet beekeeping life

At the home of Zhang Lamei, a villager in Weijiazhuang Village, Laoshawan Town, Shawan County, rows of beehives are lined up neatly. When the hive lid is opened and a honeycomb frame is slowly pulled out, in an instant, tens of thousands of bees clinging to the honeycomb present a spectacular scene of a swarm of bees making honey.

Zhang Lamei, who has 5 years of beekeeping experience, said that beekeeping does not take up land, requires little investment, yields quick results, and causes no pollution or public harm. It is a "fast-acting industry" for villagers to get rich.

This year, Zhang Lamei kept 150 colonies of bees and produced a variety of bee products. Because her family's honey is purely natural, green and pollution-free, the bee products have been in short supply since they were introduced to the market.

"The products we mainly deal in are honey, pollen, royal jelly, propolis and so on. Bees collecting nectar can also pollinate crops," Zhang Lamei said.

When Zhang Lamei learned that some beekeepers in the village had limited access to information, that their bee products were slow to sell and their prices could not rise, and that their annual beekeeping income was only over 10,000 yuan, she had the idea of establishing a cooperative to lead beekeepers together onto a broader road to prosperity.

Zhang Lamei said: "I saw that many people around me were setting up all kinds of cooperatives, such as breeding cooperatives, land cooperatives and so on, so I thought these beekeepers could also be organized to set up a cooperative."

She acted as soon as she spoke. In May this year, Zhang Lamei took the first step toward her dream. She established a beekeeping farmers' professional cooperative and registered a brand trademark for the cooperative's bee products.

"In the past, when I farmed, I earned only about 10,000 yuan a year. Farming depends on the right timing, geographical advantages and harmony among people. Beekeeping is different. Not only is it unaffected by the weather, but the returns come quickly. In just one short month, I earned more than 10,000 yuan," Zhang Lamei said happily.

Over the past few years, Zhang Lamei has continuously expanded her breeding scale, improved honey quality, and built bee products with distinctive branding. Driven by the cooperative, she has promoted members' development of the bee industry and helped everyone get rich together.

Talking about her dreams for the future, Zhang Lamei was full of confidence: "I plan to complete the factory building next year, then gradually make the cooperative more large-scale, build a cooperative and brand that truly belong to us beekeepers, turn the cooperative's bee products into a purely natural, original-ecology brand, and use 'Internet Plus' to let the cooperative's bee products go beyond Shawan and go beyond **."