In the mountain and dry forest ecosystems of the district of Salas, in Lambayeque, a group of peasant women has been promoting an initiative that connects pollinator conservation, ecosystem restoration and sustainable income generation in rural territories.
This is the “Women Guardians of the Native Bees” program, a strategic line promoted by the environmental social enterprise Sumak Kawsay, whose CEO was recognized in 2023 as a Mountain Restoration Steward and today mentors the current Forest Restoration Steward in Peru, which currently articulates 60 peasant women from six communities of the San Francisco de Asís peasant community, including Quechua-speaking women.
Peasant women from the “Women Guardians of Native Bees” program, together with Ysa Calderón and Ángela Dávila, from the Sumak Kawsay technical team, during the delivery of ration boxes for the breeding of native stingless bees in the San Francisco de Asís peasant community, Salas district, Lambayeque.
Photo: Sumak Kawsay.
Through this program, participants strengthen capacities in sustainable meliponiculture, the technical management of native stingless bees, a practice that allows the conservation of key pollinators for food systems, the recovery of degraded ecosystems and the generation of new economic opportunities in rural areas.
Peasant women from the “Women Guardians of Native Bees” program during a field trip to learn about pollination and recognize native plants that serve as food for native stingless bees in the mountain ecosystems of Salas, Lambayeque.
Photo: Sumak Kawsay.
Native stingless bees play a critical role in rural landscapes. They are part of the pollination networks that allow the reproduction of wild plants, forest species and agricultural crops that sustain biodiversity and food security.
Interior of a colony of native stingless bees handled in ration boxes. This year the participants of the “Women Guardians of the Native Bees” program will begin the production of their first batch of medicinal honey in Salas, Lambayeque.
Photo: Sumak Kawsay.
“Native bees play a silent but essential role in rural landscapes. Protecting pollinators also means protecting ecosystems, food, and the local economies that depend on them,” says Ysa Calderón, a Peruvian chemical engineer, founder of Sumak Kawsay, 2023 Mountains Restoration Steward and winner of the 2024 MIDORI Biodiversity Award.
Pollinators and landscape restoration
The Women Guardians of Native Bees program integrates different components that link biodiversity, local knowledge, and rural livelihoods:
- Conservation of native stingless bees as a basis for strengthening pollination networks in rural landscapes.
- Identification of native plant species that serve as habitat and food for pollinators.
- Seed collection and production of seedlings with native plants for future ecological restoration actions in the territory.
- Applied research aimed at understanding the biological value and territorial traceability of honey produced by communities.
As part of the training process, the women of the program also carry out participatory mapping of the landscape, identifying deforested areas, key plant species for pollinators and priority areas for restoration.
Participants of the “Women Guardians of Native Bees” program identify areas of the territory and native plant species affected by deforestation during a participatory workshop on restoration of habitats for pollinators in Salas, Lambayeque.
Photo: Sumak Kawsay.
These actions seek to contribute to the recovery of mountain and dry forest ecosystems in northern Peru, biodiverse territories that face degradation processes associated with deforestation and land use change.
Biodiversity that drives sustainable rural economies
In addition to conservation actions, the program promotes a regenerative economy strategy based on biodiversity.
The participating women develop capacities for the production of medicinal honey from native stingless bees, a high-value product linked to the floral diversity of the ecosystems where it is produced.
Peasant women from the “Women Guardians of Native Bees” program develop participatory maps to identify deforested areas and recognize native plants that serve as habitat and food for native stingless bees and other pollinators in the San Francisco de Asís peasant community, Salas district, Lambayeque.
Photo: Sumak Kawsay.
Through the commercialization of honey, panela and other agroecological products from mountain and dry forest ecosystems, Sumak Kawsay contributes to financing pollinator conservation actions, ecosystem restoration and applied research in the territory.
Honey produced in the mountain ecosystems of the district of Salas, Lambayeque. Through the commercialization of honey and other agroecological products, Sumak Kawsay contributes to financing pollinator conservation actions, ecosystem restoration and applied research in the territory.
Photo: Sumak Kawsay.
Likewise, the initiative promotes agrotourism experiences such as “The Bee Honey Route”, which allows visitors to learn about the landscapes where native bees live, the plants that depend on their pollination and the work of the peasant women who lead this process.
Participants of the agrotourism experience “The Bee Honey Route” during a field visit to the mountain ecosystems of the district of Salas, Lambayeque, an experience the connection with bees, nature and territorial work.
Photo: Diana Cozzi
Registration is currently open for the waiting list for the first batch of medicinal honey from native stingless bees, produced under agroecological standards and territorial traceability.
Medicinal honey from native stingless bees produced through sustainable practices in mountain ecosystems in northern Peru. The first batch will come from ration boxes of native bees managed by peasant and Quechua women from the “Women Guardians of Native Bees” program.
Photo: Sumak Kawsay
A territorial experience in the global climate agenda
The work developed by the program has also begun to generate interest in international spaces linked to biodiversity, restoration, and food systems.
The experience of “Women Guardians of Native Bees” was presented by Ysa Calderón in different spaces of dialogue during COP30, where she shared the work carried out by peasant women in northern Peru in the conservation of pollinators and the restoration of ecosystems.
Ysa Calderón, CEO of Sumak Kawsay, during her participation as a speaker at COP30, where she presented the work of peasant women who conserve native stingless bees in Lambayeque.
Photo: Sumak Kawsay.
During the climate summit, Calderón participated as a speaker in events related to sustainable food systems and nature-based solutions. She was also invited to represent community-based entrepreneurs at the launch of the Rio Changemakers initiative, at the invitation of the Luxembourg Ministry of Environment and the Global Landscapes Forum.
Ysa Calderón, CEO of Sumak Kawsay, together with Kamal Prawiranegara, director of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF); Serge Wilmes, Minister of Environment of Luxembourg; and John Colmey, senior director of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), during meetings within the framework of COP30, where the conservation work of native stingless bees promoted by peasant and Quechua-speaking women of Lambayeque was made visible, as well as the upcoming ecosystem restoration actions in the territory.
Photo: Sumak Kawsay.
The experience promoted in Lambayeque demonstrates how initiatives led by rural women can contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, climate resilience and the strengthening of sustainable livelihoods in rural territories.
Press Contact
Ysa Calderón
CEO, Sumak Kawsay
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