In the serene village of Sonigam in Kashmir’s Kulgam district, the morning hum of honeybees signals the start of Shabir Ahmad Itoo’s day. Clad in his trademark green-and-black hat, the 35-year-old moves with focus and ease among rows of buzzing hives — barehanded, fearless, attentive.
Just a few years ago, Itoo was a Physical Education lecturer, earning a stable income and teaching at some of Jammu and Kashmir’s top colleges. Today, he’s a full-time beekeeper, nurturing both honeybees and a new model of sustainable agriculture. What led him here wasn’t just a change in career — it was a deeper calling, rooted in his love for nature and a desire to create something lasting.
“I’m not chasing jobs anymore,” he says, a calm smile on his face. “I’m creating them.”
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A life built around bees
Every morning, Itoo begins his day not with a cup of Nun Chai, Kashmir’s beloved pink tea, but with the hum of honeybees. Barehanded and unafraid, he lifts each hive box with care, inspecting the colonies for movement, health, and rhythm — reading the signs as if in conversation with nature.
“I spent four years as a college lecturer, earning around ₹30,000 a month,” he says, tipping the brim of his hat. “But beekeeping changed everything. My income has doubled. More importantly, I feel I’ve finally found the right path. I’m not just earning — I’m building something. I now have five people working with me. This is not just work. It’s purpose.”
His first experience with bees came long before he left the classroom. Itoo started by observing traditional mud hives, a method commonly used in his region. His parents, both familiar with the practice, taught him the basics. As his interest deepened, he attended beekeeping training programmes organised by the Apiculture Department in Kulgam.
Later, through the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), he received a structured unit of 35 bee colonies — marking the beginning of his more formal journey into apiculture.
What began as an experiment has now become a full-fledged venture, trusted by the community and driven by strong local demand.
Honey, heritage, and a healthier way to farm
Among the rows of humming hives outside his home, Itoo sees a way forward — for the land, for farmers, and for future generations.
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“Every hive, every drop of honey is a commitment to a healthier future,” he says. “It’s about working with nature, not against it. Beekeeping shows that farming can be both productive and respectful of the environment.”
Itoo blends tradition with modern science. Alongside the structured wooden hives, several mud hives — used for trapping bees — line the walls near his cowshed. “Once bees settle in the mud hives, I carefully transfer them along with the queen into boxes,” he explains. “While I use both traditional and scientific methods, I prefer the scientific approach. It helps me manage better and scale responsibly.”
Swapping chalk for honeycombs, Shabir’s days now revolve around bee health, harvest cycles, and mentoring others.
What Itoo is building feels honest and lasting. He’s farming in a way that makes room for both old wisdom and new ideas.
A lecturer who chose the land
Before turning to bees, Itoo taught thousands of undergraduate students across Jammu and Kashmir. With a post-graduate degree in Physical Education, an MPhil, and having cleared the State Eligibility Test (SET), his academic path was well established.
He worked in Government Degree Colleges across Kupwara, Sopore, and Rajouri. But by 2019, something had begun to shift. He felt drawn towards the outdoors, to working with his hands and being closer to the natural world. Eventually, he stepped away from the lectern and began building something of his own.
At 35, he’s now known across his village not as a professor, but as someone who understands bees — how they move, what they need, and what they can teach us.
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With support from HADP, Itoo started his enterprise with just Rs 28,000. The programme covered 80 percent of his unit cost and helped him set up a small operation near his home. Since then, he has expanded significantly. Today, he manages over 100 bee colonies and produces around five quintals of honey in a good season, depending on weather and floral conditions.
The honey is sold under the local brand name ‘Buzzing Beekeeper’s Kulgam’. Though it’s not a large commercial brand, it enjoys strong community trust.
“People trust it because they know it’s pure,” he says. “It’s organic, chemical-free, and made with care. I don’t have to go out looking for buyers. They come on their own.”
How one farmer helped orchards bloom naturally
Itoo’s work with bees is also helping reshape how fruit is grown in Kashmir. In apple orchards across Kulgam, farmers are now seeing the value of using bee colonies to support natural pollination and reduce chemical use.
Kulgam is known for producing some of the finest apples in the Valley. Itoo introduced orchardists to the idea of placing honeybee colonies during flowering season—offering a low-cost, effective solution to improve fruit set and quality.
“Apple growers here often rely on artificial sprays to improve the fruit set,” he says. “But bees can do it better. When you use Apis cerana bees in orchards, they naturally support pollination—and the results speak for themselves.”
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Taught by his parents, Shabir began with mud hives, and now uses both tradition and science to grow his bee colonies.
Farmers who followed his lead began noticing clear improvements. The apples grew larger, had better shape and colour, and tasted sweeter. Yields increased, and orchards required fewer chemical inputs.
In his own orchard, Itoo placed ten colonies during the flowering stage. He refers to them as natural Plant Growth Regulators. The outcome has been consistent. “The apples are healthier now, and the profits are better too,” he says.
Locals now call him a “swarm specialist” — a title he has earned not through formal training, but through care, observation, and experience. His work offers a practical model for farming that is both ecological and economically sound.
From a village kitchen to a movement
The impact of Itoo’s work reaches beyond the orchards. Naseer Ahmad, a local businessman and regular customer, says the honey has become a winter essential in his home.
“My family and I take a spoon of his honey in warm water every day during winter. It helps us deal with coughs, fevers, and colds,” he says. “We trust it because we know where it’s coming from.”
That trust, built through consistency and purity, has become Itoo’s strongest form of outreach. He doesn’t advertise. The demand speaks for itself.
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To support more such ventures, the Jammu and Kashmir government has been promoting beekeeping under HADP. Through this, farmers like Itoo receive subsidies, colonies, and equipment, as well as hands-on training.
He believes this path is wide open for others — especially for young people with education but limited opportunities.
“No job is too small. If you have the dedication, the government will support you. There are schemes under agriculture, apiculture, and HADP that offer up to 80 percent subsidy,” he says.
Researchers at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) see enormous potential. Their findings suggest that Jammu and Kashmir can support over 600,000 bee colonies and produce up to 9,000 tonnes of honey each year. That growth could help create sustainable livelihoods for more than 12,000 rural families.
Researchers at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) see enormous potential. Their findings suggest that Jammu and Kashmir can support over 600,000 bee colonies and produce up to 9,000 tonnes of honey each year. That growth could help create sustainable livelihoods for more than 12,000 rural families.
“We have countless success stories like Itoo’s,” says Qazi Showkat Ashraf, Deputy Director at the Department of Agriculture, Kashmir. “Through government programmes, we’re providing colonies, training, and tools that support both income and sustainable farming.”
For Itoo, the numbers matter — but what matters more is watching young people return to the land with confidence. His journey offers a reminder that sustainable livelihoods can grow from the simplest of beginnings. Sometimes, all it takes is a box of bees and the will to begin.