Sweet Skills: Stingless Beekeeping and Woodworking Combine at AU2 Community Garden

By, Adibah Amir

The AU2 Community Garden in Taman Keramat has taken a significant step toward promoting
sustainable urban living through an innovative programme that combines urban stingless
beekeeping and woodworking training for youth. The initiative, funded by the Dana Inovasi Sosial
under the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT), aims to empower local communities with practical
skills while fostering environmental stewardship and economic opportunities.

The programme on Saturday, 10 May 2025, conducted at community garden AU2, featured two core
components: a hands-on beekeeping course focused on the cultivation of stingless bees (commonly
known as kelulut) in urban environments, and a woodworking workshop where young participants
learn to fabricate man-made hives using recycled wood.

This is the beginning of a series of knowledge transfer programmes scheduled throughout the fund
cycle, with ongoing activities planned to benefit a wider segment of the community. 

The project has already attracted positive attention from educators, NGOS, and local families eager
to explore alternative income sources and contribute to a greener city, who see its value beyond just
honey production. It offers a platform for education, sustainability, and skill-building for livelihood
improvement.

The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) facilitated the beekeeping module, which
covered hive maintenance, honey harvesting, and the pollination role of stingless bees, emphasising
their importance in urban agriculture and biodiversity. Meanwhile, Rekayu Furniture Studio led the
woodworking segment, providing vocational training that enables youth to build durable hives for
community use and for distribution to participating residents.

As an added value, the programme also introduced the community to homemade natural products
such as facial honey soap, lip balm and moisturising lotion, using stingless bee honey to promote
small-scale entrepreneurship.

The man-made hives produced by youth are a key innovation, reducing the cost of beekeeping for
new adopters and encouraging further participation in the program. Further enriching the
programme, IIUM students shared their innovations in food and processing technology, blending
academic research with social impact and environmental sustainability.

This initiative is part of a broader push by the Ministry of Higher Education to support grassroots
innovations that address real-world challenges. Through the Dana Sosial Inovasi, community-driven
projects like the one in AU2 serve as models for how academic institutions, social enterprises, local
talent and grassroots action can come together to build a resilient and empowered community.

Importantly, stingless bee honey, native to Malaysia’s tropical ecosystem, stands as a symbol of the
country’s rich natural heritage and is celebrated for its nutritional and medicinal properties. By
incorporating vocational woodworking with recycled wood, this initiative also supports the scalability
and sustainability of urban farming and environmental awareness in city spaces.***

(These are the views of Dr. Adibah Amir, affiliated with the Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia which do not represent IIUM Today’s.)