Kuwaiti doctor .. From dental clinics to honey apiaries

Shahad Al Mahameed - Kuwait

Kuwaiti dentist Issa Al-Issa did not know that helping honey heal a loved one from a rare skin disease would lead him to third place globally in a honey competition in which 2050 samples from 47 countries took part.

Al-Issa, who is no longer known only for his main profession but as a beekeeper, told Al Jazeera Net the details of the strange journey that led him to combine two professions, far from being one of the other.

Many years ago, a family member had a rare skin immune disease, a type of allergic reaction that develops on the skin. "We went everywhere, knocked on all doors for five years, but this disease has not been cured," he told me. One doctor says all we can do is take anti-allergy pills and eat honey. " Hence Al-Essa began to turn in the advice of the doctor, and behind the pages of the Koran, which mentioned honey and healing of diseases.

The doctor's advice on eating honey was not difficult, but the many types of honey in the market were the focus of confusion Alissa, he decided to take the advice of one of his beekeeping friends, and put ten beekeepers in his land before he reaps honey by the end of 2016, and the surprise was then the danger of a low relative of his patient 40% for the first time in five years, just four months after eating your honey.

Al-Essa believes that as Muslims we must believe in the ability of honey to heal after he mentioned this in the Koran.

By the end of 2017, he decided to take his first steps in his new project, and to produce original honey to be on the tables of Kuwaitis, stressing that the success of the original honey project is not easy, especially in a country such as Kuwait known desert climate, in addition to the impression of the Arab citizen wrong about honey, according to Alissa "The most important characteristic of the original honey is its crystallization, that is, it becomes rigid. It is one of the problems we face with the consumer, who believes that honey must be semi-liquid."

High cost and scarce production
Al-Essa pointed out that honey production in a desert country is very scarce and the cost of producing it is high, as it passes its worst cases during August, where beekeepers lose about 90% of their bees annually, and a large part of them lose it completely, so beekeepers need to put new bees by September Every year, take care of him again.

One cell produces two to three kilograms of honey, which is a small amount because of the climate, but one of the most important advantages that honey becomes concentrated because of the lack of nectar, and therefore its benefits are greater and taste more delicious, Al-Essa points out that the main difficulties are the lack of sources of nectar, and therefore must increase the cultivation Trouble trees.

Al-Essa started with ten cells, and today he has about five hundred cells in Kuwait alone, producing about 1500 kilograms of honey per season, not to mention the cells outside Kuwait, the man now owns the company "Organic" original honey, and not only put the Kuwaiti product, but established Its own cells outside the country to provide all species.

He stressed that the best honey for anyone is the honey of his country, "bees collect honey from pollen and existing plants, and therefore when a person is exposed to the pollen daily immunity against them, and thus become more resistant to allergies."

Alissa participated in the British Honey Fair, a competition held annually since 1923, and won the "Sidr Kuwaiti" honey, produced by "beekeeper doctor" ranked third in the world, among 2050 samples from 47 countries.

The evaluation of the competition is based on three criteria: the physical properties such as the color and texture of the honey, the natural pollen contained in it and the benefits of honey.The second is the aesthetic appearance of honey and its free from impurities and dust, while the third criterion is based on the taste and smell of honey.

He describes the appetite of citizens and expatriates for local honey (Jabbar), which forced him to open another shop to cope with the increase in domestic demand.

Official support
“Oil is a depleted energy, honey is our new wealth,” Al-Essa said of his dream that the government should invest in planting huge forests of bad trees, especially as Kuwaiti honey has become distinctive in its quality and taste, especially “Sidr”, which in his view means that honey can become Additional source of income for the state.

"The Agriculture and Fisheries Commission supports beekeepers, such as providing us with free medicines for bee diseases, and organizes free courses in this area," he said, calling for more attention and care for trees.

Al-Essa pointed out that the Kuwaiti honey market rebounded after winning the award, as people became more confident in the local product, not to mention the increase in the number of beekeepers in the country, and the increasing frequency of their interest in improving their production of honey and care for bees more. The field of beekeeping in Kuwait is now developing. "