IMA · Amazon Meliponiculture

Stingless bees at the entrance to a hive in the forest

IMAAmazon Meliponiculture Institute

Protecting, valuing and sharing knowledge about stingless bees — treasures of Amazonian biodiversity.

Who we are

Institute of Meliponiculture for Education, the Bioeconomy and Sustainability in the Amazon.

Transforming Amazonian communities through meliponiculture.

Founded in 1996 and registered in 1997, IMA is a private, nonprofit civil organization based in Manaus, Amazonas. It supports the ethno-ecological development of Amazonian peoples and communities, promoting meliponiculture, biodiversity conservation and sustainability in the region.

The Amazon Meliponiculture Institute was founded with a mission to protect, value and share knowledge about stingless bees — true treasures of our biodiversity.

With a focus on environmental conservation, ecological education and strengthening meliponiculture as a sustainable practice, we bring together science, tradition and a commitment to the Amazon.

Through educational projects, research, workshops and support for local communities, we seek to promote the importance of native bees for balanced ecosystems and food security.

Educational projects
Research
Workshops
Community support

Year founded: 1996
Families supported: 500; Approximately — Indigenous, caboclo and riverside communities
States where we work: 3; Amazonas, Roraima and Pará

Our mission

Promote education and technical training.
Share sustainable practices in meliponiculture.
Strengthen the socio-bioeconomy, valuing local communities.
Preserve Amazonian biodiversity by bringing together traditional knowledge and technological innovation.

Our team

Our technical team includes specialists in meliponiculture, ecology, sustainability and environmental education, with experience in outreach and research projects dedicated to valuing and preserving native stingless bees.

Communities and environmental education

We work with Indigenous, caboclo and riverside communities in Amazonas, Roraima and Pará. We partner with schools in forest and waterside areas, involving young people and adults in environmental education programs that incorporate meliponiculture.

IMA's initiatives promote the bioeconomy and sustainable development, strengthening communities' connections to their territories and natural resources.

What is meliponiculture?

Meliponiculture is the managed keeping of Brazil's native bees, known as stingless bees because they have a vestigial stinger (Meliponini).

Linked to family farming, this practice values traditional knowledge and environmental conservation. Stingless beekeepers play an active role in maintaining balanced ecosystems.