From the safety of your chair, climb hundreds of feet up Nepal’s Hongu River Valley to harvest hallucinogenic honey amongst the largest bees in the world!

Mexicali Blues is hosting an exclusive, one-time-only PRIVATE and FREE screening of the stunning documentary film, The Last Honey Hunter, produced by National Geographic.

Join us at Skidompha Library this Friday for this not to be missed evening– PLEASE reserve your ticket, as our venue has limited seating!

Following the film will be a Q&A with Ben Ayers (from the Film Crew and the dZi Foundation) and Pete and Kim Erskine of Mexicali Blues about their recent trip to this region of Nepal. Light refreshments will be served.

“In the mist-shrouded mountains of Nepal’s Hongu River valley, the Kulung people carve their lives out of the land and practice an ancient form of animism structured around the god Rongkemi. There you will find a wiry and unassuming man named Mauli Dhan Rai, who is believed to be chosen by the gods for the perilous rite of honey harvesting. The task, which involves climbing rope ladders up sheer cliffs to cut down combs made by the world’s largest honeybee (before collecting the potently powerful honey within), is extraordinarily dangerous. But it’s a spiritual pursuit soaked in myth that the Kulung believe taps directly into the gods. And with roads, technology and market forces, it may not be around for long. This film, a 2016 Mountainfilm Commitment Grant winner directed by Ben Knight, puts a spotlight on a remarkable practice under threat of modernity.”

Standing room will be available for those without tickets. We will also be launching our #MexicaliMatch intiative to encourage donations to build a school in this region in partnership with the dZi Foundation. To learn more or donate please visit: https://dzi.org/mexicali/

You can also read more about how we came to be connected with dZi and what we’re working to do with them next through this lovely piece from The Lincoln County News.