Aitesingh Chepang, a beekeeper from Silinge village in Makawanpur, central Nepal, cannot hide his excitement this winter. With 150 beehives placed amid blooming chiuri forests, he is expecting a bumper honey harvest that could double his earnings from last year.

In the previous season, Aitesingh sold honey worth over Rs700,000. This year, he estimates his income will exceed Rs1.2 million, driven by a strong demand and better prices.

“These days, honey is sold in cash as soon as it is extracted,” he said. “The price is also good.”

Unlike earlier years, beekeepers no longer have to travel long distances to sell their produce. Traders now visit the grazing sites directly, paying Rs400 per kilogram. “Last year, honey fetched Rs300 per kilogram. We had to go all the way to Lothar market to sell it,” Aitesingh recalled. “Now traders come to the door themselves.”

So far this month, he has extracted and sold honey three times from each hive, earning Rs325,000. With favourable conditions continuing, he expects to extract honey up to five more times this season. A single hive can yield honey as many as eight times during the peak flowering period.

The growing demand is largely for chiuri honey, produced when bees collect nectar from chiuri flowers.

For decades, chiuri trees have been central to the livelihoods of the Chepang community in remote parts of Makawanpur, where beekeeping has long been in practice.

Chiuri, known scientifically as Diploknema butyracea or the butter tree, is a medium- to large-sized broadleaved species of the Sapotaceae family. It grows at elevations between 400 and 1,500 metres, often on steep slopes and narrow valleys.

The tree begins fruiting after about five years and can continue producing for 50 to 60 years. Flowering occurs in April or November, depending on the region, while fruits ripen between June and December. In winter, when the trees are in full bloom, the forests turn white, marking the busiest time for beekeepers.

In Silinge village of Raksirang Rural Municipality–6 alone, more than 5,000 beehives have been set up.

Farmers from Hetauda, Chitwan, Kathmandu and other areas have brought more than 1,500 hives to take advantage of the flowering season, while around 3,500 hives belong to local Chepang families.

Hives have been placed so densely across settlements such as Chapal, Dhusrang, Kharkhande and Silinge that the landscape appears blanketed in white. “More than 5,000 beehives have been placed in the area,” said local resident Singh Bahadur Chepang.

According to Dinesh Chepang, a local honey trader, each extraction yields around one kilogram of honey per hive. “The climate is suitable for honey production, and the chiuri trees are in full bloom,” he said, adding that sunny weather has further improved nectar collection.

Demand for chiuri honey from Makawanpur has been rising steadily. At the Janachetana Agricultural Cooperative in Lothar, which has long handled marketing of chiuri honey, consumers and traders now have to wait at least a week to receive their orders.

Beekeepers from areas such as Kakada used to bring their honey to the cooperative for sale. This year, however, much of the honey never reaches the market. With traders visiting grazing areas directly, sales are happening at the source.

“This year, an estimated 60 tonnes of honey will be sold from Silinge village,” said beekeeper Dipen Chepang. “Compared to previous years, there are more hives because the weather is also favorable.” Last year, around 45 tonnes of honey were sold from the area.

There are more than 100 beekeepers engaged in honey production in Silinge and surrounding settlements. The distinctive taste and quality of chiuri honey have boosted its popularity, helping Raksirang Rural Municipality–6 earn around Rs20 million annually from honey alone.

Beekeeping practices in the Chepang community have also evolved over time. Traditionally, families reared local Serena species of bees in log hives. Today, commercial beekeeping using modern hives and the improved Apis mellifera species has become common.

Alongside this shift, the community has placed strong emphasis on conserving chiuri forests. For the past five years, the Chepang community of Kakada has run a dedicated campaign linking chiuri conservation with livelihood protection. Since 2016, every household in the rural municipality has been required to plant at least 50 chiuri saplings and protect existing trees.

Villagers have also taken steps to conserve bats, the primary pollinators of chiuri flowers. Bat meat was once widely consumed, leading to a sharp decline in their population. Community forests have now imposed strict restrictions on hunting and killing the animals.

As chiuri forests flourish and markets expand, winter has become a season of opportunity for Chepang beekeepers like Aitesingh. With buzzing hives, blooming trees and traders lining up at their doorsteps, honey is no longer just a traditional practice, but a thriving rural enterprise.