SIDR HONEY MOUNTAINOUS

Sidr Honey

Welcome !

This website has been published as a database of our research on the highly regarded SIDR honey of Yemen.  SIDR honey is in tremendous demand, particularly for its curative and nutritive benefits. Some are willing to pay large sums of money, up to USD800 per kg of honey, when supply is low! the author of one of the few Arabic treatises on beekeeping, 'the whole of Yemen is a land of honey'. Beekeeping is deep-rooted throughout Yemen's history with a very old and rich tradition. It is an activity which has come down through time like an inheritance.
Connoisseurs are able to distinguish between a Yemeni honey and one imported from abroad, as well as recognizing its regional origin from its aroma, colour and taste.  The degree of the humidity and consequent viscosity are of great importance in the valuation of honey. Honey has become the Yemeni's heritage and one of the most precious gifts that are presented to Sheikhs, ministers or well-known social personalities.

Health Benefits of Raw and Pure Honey

1.      Antibacterial and antifungal properties

2.     Provides minerals, vitamins, antioxidants

3.     Strengthens immunity

4.     Honey also has its effect on weight Loss which makes me mostly excited! Simply drink warm water with lemon and honey on an empty stomach.

5.     Did you know that though honey has more calories than sugar, honey when consumed with warm water helps in digesting the fat stored in your body?

6.     Promotes the growth of good bacteria in the intestine

7.     Boosts energy and reduces fatigue

8.     Restores eyesight. Mix 2 teaspoons of honey with carrot juice and consume regularly.

9.     Relieves a sore throat

10.  Prevents heart disease by improving blood flow

11.   Soothes burns, disinfects wounds. Garlic honey, which is just a mixture of honey and garlic, can be applied directly to infected wounds to clean the area

12.   Reduces inflammation and pain

13.   Alkalizes body’s pH

14.  Contains phytonutrients, which possess cancer-preventing and anti-tumor properties

15.   Helps with indigestion and acid reflux

16.  Destroys bacteria causing acne

17.  Prevents low white blood cell count

18.  Counters pollen allergies. Take a teaspoon of raw honey a couple of times a day starting a few months prior to allergy season.

19.  Flushes parasites from liver and colon

20.  A salve made of honey can be applied to eczema with asthma when mixed with black pepper and ginger

21.   For hangovers. Mix 15ml of raw honey with 80ml of orange juice and 70ml of organic yogurt.

22.  Reduces ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders

23.  Honey helps build stamina in athletes

24.  Honey and cinnamon can help with Arthritis. Mix one part honey with two parts of luke warm water and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Massage the mixture on the itching part of the body.

25.  Helps with scalp problems and dandruff

26.  Helps with anxiety

27.  Reduces metabolic stress

28.  Helps clear your sinuses. To clear your sinuses, take a mixture of 1 teaspoon each of fresh ginger juice and honey two or three times a day.

29.  Cures toothache. Make a paste of honey and cinnamon and apply on the aching tooth.

30.  Moisturizes skin. Mix a dollop of honey and two tablespoons of warm water and massage the mixture into your skin.

31.   Relieves morning sickness

32.  Helps with hiccups

33.   Reduces hay fever. Take  a tablespoon of honey in the morning

34.  Helps with tension headaches. Simply sip on a ½ glass of warm water with a couple of added teaspoons of honey.

35.   Helps with pink eye. Place a teaspoon of honey with a cup of water and heat just enough to melt the honey. Let cool and use an eye dropper drop the mixture in the infected eye.

36.  Leg cramps. Take 2 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar and 1 tbsp. of honey each evening before bed.

37.  Reduces cholesterol. Mix two tablespoons of honey and three tablespoons of cinnamon in 16 ounces of tea.

38.  Helps with bad breath.  Mix one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon in hot water.

39.  Soften hard water, Just add honey to bath water

Traditional Beekeping

An important factor affecting a honey's curative qualities is purity. Only crude, unprocessed honey has shown to be effective.

On the global market, raw, organic honey is very rare. This is because modern agriculture has introduced chemicals into the previously untainted environment of the bee hive. Not only are chemical residues carried in on the pollens and nectars that bees gather, chemicals and antibiotics are used by beekeepers to control mites and other bee diseases in the hive. This practice is so widespread globally, making organic honey difficult to produce.

In Yemen the method of beekeeping has always been a traditional one, from one generation to another. No machinery used in extracting the honey from uncultivated plants. All are done using their hands ....

Traditional Beekeeping in Eastern Yemen
A stop at Hajarayn, in Wadi Dawan, gave me the opportunity to meet a group of nomadic beekeepers working along the wadi, and to collect information about their activities and organization. The following is an extract from the recorded interview carried out at the time...

We bring up the bees ourselves. We capture wild swarms in the mountains and the rest we buy at the annual bee market Hives are made of mud, of clay For us there is little danger from the stings; we are used to them, they do not hurt. Even if I get stung a hundred times! There is no venom We are very experienced.

To extract the honey we use smoke that forces the bees to come out and move away. Then we take off the cover and the comb is extracted with a knife. It is put into boxes or larger containers by hand. We do not use equipment; everything is done using our hands and some smoke
Arabs have kept bees for a long time, since the time of the Quran, God knows, perhaps even before the Prophet Honey takes prime place in traditional Arab medicine.

We will stay in this area for forty days, then we will extract the honey and move camp going northwards, for 3 or 4 hours by car. When we see the right place, where rains have fallen, we stop. Rain falls in spring, a little in summer, and then in autumn; in winter there is not much rain and it is cold.

There is no fatigue in this work, we only get tired when we move. We have to load the pickup and then unload We leave at night, after sunset. We travel, we unload, everything has to be finished before the light of dawn We move from place to place with Gods blessings, together with the bees, depending on the seasons