Retired Imam Hayfi Demirboğa Turns to Natural Beekeeping in Turkey’s Toros Mountains

Hayfi Demirboğa, a 68‑year‑old retired imam‑hatip from Saimbeyli in Adana Province, has turned his childhood passion for bees into a full‑time livelihood. After retiring, he moved to the high plateaus of Avcıpınarı and Beypınarı in the Toros Mountains, at about 1,600 m altitude, where he tends natural karakovan hives without artificial frames or sugar feeding.

Demirboğa harvests the honey only once a year, emphasizing the low water content and intense aroma that he says appeals especially to diabetics and cancer patients. He lives a daily routine of monitoring the hives, collecting swarms by hand, and promoting a completely natural production method that reflects the surrounding pine and juniper flora.