ABSTRACT
The Honey Bee Network evolved ten years ago in response to an extraordinary discomfort with my own conduct and professional accountability towards those whose knowledge I had written about and benefited from. I realized that my conduct was no different from that of other exploiters of rural disadvantaged people, such as moneylenders, landlords, traders, etc. They exploited the poor in the respective resource markets, and I exploited people in the ideas market. Most of my work had remained in English and thus was accessible only to those who knew this language. While I did share findings of my research with the providers of knowledge through informal meetings and workshops, the fact remained that I sought legitimacy for my work primarily through publications, mainly in English and in international journals or books. The ‘income’ that had accrued to me had not been shared explicitly with the providers of the knowledge. I argued with myself that I have spent such considerable time and energy in policy advocacy on behalf of knowledge-rich, economically poor people. But all of this was of no avail when it came to being at peace with myself. That is when the idea of Honey Bee came to mind.
