Beekeeping breakthrough puts Doraha apiculturist on global map

In the small town of Doraha, where land is divided and dreams often shrink to fit the boundaries of inheritance, 68-year-old Jaswant Singh Tiwana chose expansion—not for his land, but vision.

Born into a family of five brothers, Jaswant inherited just three acres of farmland. “With so little land, our income was barely enough to survive,” he recalls. To make ends meet, he worked as an electrician, alongside farming. But the struggle continued, and Jaswant found himself constantly searching for ways to increase his income.

Then came a turning point. In 1983, a friend told him about a beekeeping training programme at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). Intrigued, Jaswant enrolled. “I realised that farming and electrical work alone wouldn’t sustain my family. Beekeeping felt like a door opening to something bigger,” he says.

After a week of training, he borrowed two honey boxes from his friend and began his journey. Within six months, those two boxes multiplied into 15. “That early growth gave me confidence. I never looked back,” Jaswant says.

Today, Jaswant runs Tiwana Bee Farm, housing over 2,000 bee boxes and producing more than 7,500 kg of honey asnnually. He specialises in Italian bees, which yield three times more honey than native varieties—up to 60 kg per box.

“These bees sting less, multiply faster and give better returns. One box can turn into three,” he explains.

But Jaswant didn’t stop at honey production. He noticed a major inefficiency: bees expend nearly eight kilograms of honey to produce just one kilogram of wax. This energy loss impacts both yield and colony health. Motivated to solve this, Jaswant developed a computerised beeswax sheet manufacturing machine. “I wanted to help the bees save energy so they could focus on honey and breed,” he says.

The machine replicates the bees’ natural hexagonal comb structure using pure wax, giving colonies a ready-made foundation. This innovation has transformed beekeeping across Punjab and neighbouring states. Farmers report up to 20 per cent higher yields, improved hive hygiene and fewer disease outbreaks.

Botanic Honey, Jaswant’s enterprise, is now a leading supplier of beeswax foundation sheets. His products are sold across India and exported to Canada and the US.

Jaswant has trained more than 400 farmers under the PAU’s programsme. “As land shrinks, farmers must diversify. Beekeeping is ideal—it needs little space and offers high returns,” he says.

His innovation earned him the Grassroots Innovator Award from the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, and he was selected for the Udaan Cohort 1 Programme, under the Punjab Agri Business Incubator (PABI). “The training helped me scale up, understand marketing and validate my technology,” he shares.

Despite his success, Jaswant remains grounded. From two borrowed boxes to a global footprint, Jaswant Singh Tiwana’s journey is a testament to rural ingenuity, resilience and the power of thinking beyond boundaries. His story proves that even the smallest plot of land can yield the sweetest success—if nurtured with courage and care.