The Jara Beekeepers Association (JBA) was created under the umbrella of the Ajara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has been the member of Georgian Beekeepers Union since 2019. The goal of the Jara Beekeepers Association is to strengthen, promote and protect the interests of its members, raise their awareness, provide essential information and assist in the bio certification and production process. All of this eventually ensures stable income for rural beekeepers.
The Jara honey promotion web-page www.jarahoney.com and catalogue were created on behalf of the JBA and are aimed at the promotion of both Jara honey and Jara beekeepers locally and internationally. The association actively promotes Jara honey at both local festivals and international beekeeping exhibitions which has resulted in the significant increase in the demand for Jara honey. As the demand for Jara honey increases, so its production becomes more attractive for both experienced and beginner beekeepers.
For the first time in 2018, with the facilitation of the Jara Beekeepers Association, Jara honey was commercially harvested by a Georgian honey producer and exporter company. It was packaged and labeled according to international standards, making Jara honey available for consumers in both local and international markets. As a result of this first successful commercial harvest in 2018, beekeepers’ income and motivation increased, 12 new beekeepers began Jara honey production and the amount of honey harvested and sold in 2019 nearly tripled.
With the assistance and guidance of the JBA, in 2020 and in a country first, twenty-four Jara beekeepers in Ajara received Bio certification, including the Jara apiary in the Goderdzi Alpine Garden. In 2021, the JBA's processing unit became bio certified as well.
JBA collects and sell at local and international markets bio Jara honey from Jara beekeepers.
Georgia
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Bio Certificaion
