National Geographic recently released an impressive project where they followed Mauli Dahn, a Nepalese man who harvests sought-after, “red honey,” a hallucinogenic strain that is kept sacred partially by the locale of the hives it’s found in–hundreds of feet up, high in the natural cliff bands of the Himalayan foothills.
Mauli, the native Napali the story focuses on, must brave the tough climb, stinging bees and all the dangers that come with both as he harvests the sweet nectar. On the black market the honey, also known as “Mad Honey,” can sell from $60-80 per pound, according to the story. Nepalese people apparently use it as a cough syrup and antiseptic. Mauli is 57, so his time as a honey forager is coming to an end. Read the full feature, here.
