"The bees know their purpose. They were created to pollinate our crops, our trees and everything that we eat.”
FOR nearly a decade, Maria Teresa Al-Motawa saw her future in the Middle East.
Like many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the 43-year-old Cebuana imagined a life of early retirement spent on foreign soil.
That plan changed when she met the bees.
Today, instead of navigating the desert landscape of the Persian Gulf, Al-Motawa is deep in the lush, upland hills of Tuburan in Cebu, tending to hives that have become her new calling.
What began as a curiosity under the tutelage of her husband — a retired naval officer and experienced apiarist— has blossomed into a thriving honey and bee products enterprise.
“The bees know their purpose,” Al-Motawa said. “They were created to pollinate our crops, our trees and everything that we eat.”
The sweet return
Returning to her hometown in 2024, Al-Motawa launched her business in a region known for its agricultural diversity. Her bees forage across coffee, coconut, mango and corn farms, serving as silent partners in the town’s productivity.
While honey is the most recognizable fruit of her labor, Al-Motawa views bee pollen as the farm’s true crown jewel. “For me, the pollen is more important than the honey,” she explained. “It represents life, nutrition and the tireless work of the hive.”
Her venture has moved beyond a solo flight. She has established a growing network of beekeepers from nearby Balamban and other neighboring towns, creating a hub where they share techniques and process products collectively.
Pollinating progress
Al-Motawa’s transition from OFW to “agri-preneur” was bolstered by a mix of community support and government intervention.
Tuburan Mayor Democrito “Aljun” Diamante, a fellow beekeeper, provided local backing, while the Philippine International Bee and Pollination Association opened doors to technical training.
The financial side of the hive was supported by the Land Bank of the Philippines, which provided loans that Al-Motawa used as vital capital. Recently, she was a featured participant in the Municipal Agri-Fishery Investment Forum organized by the Department of Agriculture (DA-7), where she learned to pitch her products to national investors and innovators.
“Government support gave me connections,” Al-Motawa said. “From there, the opportunities followed.”
Al-Motawa is now eyeing the Department of Science and Technology to help scale her production for a wider market.
However, her mission remains rooted in the community. She regularly opens her farm for training sessions, hoping to convince more farmers to integrate beekeeping into their land to improve crop yields through natural pollination.
She sees beekeeping as a viable “Plan B” for other returning OFWs and small-scale farmers.
“There are very few beekeepers doing this seriously,” she noted. “That is both a challenge and an opportunity.”
As she tends to her hives in the quiet hills of Cebu, Al-Motawa finds a profound lesson in the insects she cares for.
“They do their work without asking for recognition, but without them, we would not survive,” she said. For this former OFW, the path home wasn’t paved with gold — it was built one hive at a time.PIA
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Tuburan’s sweet buzz of progress
Tuburan is rapidly redefining its agricultural landscape, moving beyond traditional farming to embrace sustainable, high-value industries. Foremost among these emerging sectors is apiculture, or beekeeping, which stands as a beacon of promise for the municipality’s economic and ecological future.
The promise of Tuburan’s beekeeping industry lies in the area’s rich, diverse flora, providing an ideal natural environment for apiaries to thrive. This biodiversity translates into high-quality, distinctively local honey that commands premium prices. Furthermore, apiculture is inherently sustainable; it requires relatively little land, boosts local crop yields through pollination, and offers lucrative byproducts like beeswax and propolis. For local farmers, it represents a vital pathway from subsistence farming to agri-entrepreneurship.
However, transforming potential into profits requires structure and capital.
Recognizing this, Tuburan has strategically utilized its Municipal Agriculture Investment Forum as a catalyst for growth. This forum serves as the essential bridge connecting local apiarists with investors, modern technology providers and broader markets.
By showcasing the viability of apiculture to stakeholders, the forum demonstrates strong local government commitment, thereby de-risking investments. It moves the industry from scattered backyard endeavors to a professionalized sector capable of scaling up production and entering larger supply chains.
The investment forum proves that Tuburan is not just relying on its natural resources, but is actively engineering the financial ecosystem needed for those resources to enrich the community.
The synergy between nature’s bounty and smart investment policies is positioning Tuburan as a future premier hub for the nation’s honey industry.