Honey Hunting in Nepal With a Peace Corps Volunteer.

The article focuses on the traditional practice of honey hunting in Nepal’s Gandaki Province, particularly involving the Gurung people and the Himalayan giant honey bee (Apis laboriosa). It describes the cultural and ecological aspects of harvesting cliff honey, including the ritual puja (worship) performed before the hunt and the community’s use of bamboo ladders and smoke to collect honeycombs from steep cliffs. The honey hunting event, supported by a Peace Corps Volunteer serving as an eco-tourism specialist, is presented as both a cultural tradition and a source of local income within the Annapurna Conservation Area Project, where only villagers are permitted to harvest and monitor the environment. The article highlights the communal nature of the hunts, the unique flavor of the honey, and efforts to responsibly promote this practice to increase sustainable tourism.