Tk100,000 for 20 bee boxes, now 200 regular buyers and Tk40–50k a month

This 35-year-old young man from Jamalpur municipal town did not succeed at private tutoring, a private-sector job, or then a grocery shop. At a time of despair, on the advice of an older acquaintance (a 'boro bhai'), he took five days' beekeeping training in January 2024. He then started with 20 bee boxes on Tk 1 lakh of capital. At first he was afraid of bee stings; he still has marks on his body.

In the honey season, from November to May, he has to travel with the boxes to Jamalpur, Sarishabari, Tangail, Dinajpur and Sunamganj — he has stayed for months at a time by fields of mustard, sesame and black cumin (kalijira), lychee orchards and even rubber plantations. He takes honey from each box two or three times a month. At home he has set up a bee farm in his own name; he sells at retail and wholesale prices and also has a Facebook page. At retail, black cumin honey costs Tk 1,400 a kg, rubber-leaf honey Tk 1,600, sesame Tk 1,000, lychee-flower Tk 600 and mustard honey Tk 400.

According to a Prothom Alo report from April 2025, his monthly income is Tk 40,000 to 50,000, and he has about 200 regular buyers. In his words, because he supplies pure honey, anyone who buys once comes back again and again. He plans to buy 50 more boxes next year.