Her journey from accidental beekeeper to bee conservation advocate is helping change perceptions about honeybees in the UAE.
From an accidental introduction to beekeeping to leading efforts to protect the UAE’s native honeybees, Dr. Meriem Hammal is changing how people see one of nature’s most misunderstood creatures.
Most people step back when they see a swarm of bees. Dr. Meriem Hammal does the opposite, calmly handling them without gloves, a protective suit, or even a veil.
The remarkable sight has earned her a special nickname from children visiting Terra at Expo City Dubai. They simply call her the Bee Fairy Lady.
Today, she is one of the UAE’s leading advocates for bee conservation, helping protect native honeybee populations while inspiring schools, families, and businesses to rethink their relationship with pollinators. Ironically, none of it was part of her original plan.
A Career She Never Intended to Follow
Dr. Meriem Hammal never planned to become a beekeeper. She studied veterinary medicine to honor her parents’ wishes, despite having different interests. While choosing a practical specialization, she selected beekeeping for a simple reason.
She had heard beekeepers only needed to open their hives once a week, making it easier to balance alongside her demanding veterinary studies and MBA. That practical decision quietly set her on a path that would change her life.
The Mentor Who Changed Everything
When Dr. Hammal met an experienced beekeeper in Algeria, she expected to learn the technical side of beekeeping. Instead, she discovered an entirely different way of thinking. Her mentor calmly opened a hive without any protective gear while explaining genetics, selective breeding, and bee behaviour.
Though he had never attended university, his deep knowledge left a lasting impression. “He made me realise how little I actually knew,” she later recalled. What was meant to be a three-month visit turned into nearly three years. Before she left, her mentor gifted her her first hive.
Eager to care for it, she repeatedly opened the hive to check on the queen, unknowingly disturbing the colony until it eventually lost its queen altogether. The lesson became one of patience rather than control.
Choosing Bees Over Surgery
After completing her veterinary degree, MBA, and surgical training in France, Dr. Meriem Hammal returned to Algeria. Her family expected her to open a veterinary clinic. Instead, she announced that she wanted to become a professional beekeeper. The decision surprised them.
They struggled to understand why a highly trained veterinary surgeon would choose a profession they associated with farming. But Dr. Hammal had found her calling.
She went on to help establish Algeria’s first professional beekeeping association, training women in rural communities to build sustainable livelihoods through beekeeping while creating practical education programs for deaf beekeepers.
For her, beekeeping became far more than a profession. It became the path that helped her discover her purpose.
Finding a New Mission in Dubai
Her career eventually brought Dr. Hammal to Dubai, where she focused on genetics and selective bee breeding. Although the scientific work was fulfilling, she missed connecting with people. That changed when she began leading educational programs at Terra, Expo City Dubai’s sustainability pavilion.
One workshop, in particular, stayed with her. Months later, a participant returned carrying a jar of honey. Inspired by Dr. Hammal’s session, the woman had gone back to Jordan, learned beekeeping, and taught her niece the craft.
The honey came from their own hives. For Dr. Hammal, it was proof that a single lesson can grow into something far bigger than a classroom.
Protecting the UAE’s Native Honeybees
The bees living at Terra have a remarkable history of their own.
During construction of Expo 2020 Dubai in 2019, a swarm of around 2,000 bees settled on the site.
Instead of removing them, the team decided to protect the colony.
The bees were later identified as Apis mellifera jemenitica, the honeybee subspecies native to the Arabian Peninsula and increasingly threatened by imported commercial bee populations.
Today, Dr. Hammal leads breeding efforts focused on preserving these native genetics, warning that crossbreeding with imported bees risks weakening locally adapted populations.
In January 2025, renowned conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall officially opened the Jane Goodall Pollinator Garden at Terra and named the resident queen bee Gaia.
Changing How People Think About Bees
Dr. Hammal believes conservation begins with understanding rather than fear.
She encourages residents who notice bees visiting their gardens not to panic.
Instead of calling pest control, she recommends providing a shallow tray of clean water with small stones, allowing bees to drink safely while supporting local pollinators.
She also leads educational experiences including hive visits, honey tastings, beginner beekeeping courses, children’s science workshops, ethical swarm relocation programmes, and the 100 Hives, 100 Schools initiative, which aims to introduce beekeeping education across UAE schools.
Why Children Call Her the Bee Fairy Lady
One question follows Dr. Hammal wherever she goes. Why don’t the bees sting her? She says the answer lies in years of selective breeding, calm handling, and understanding how bee colonies respond to human behaviour. She still uses smoke during hive inspections because it naturally calms bees and masks alarm signals, making the process less stressful for both the colony and the beekeeper.
Over time, her confidence around bees has become part of who she is. Watching her open hives without protective clothing, children at Terra came up with their own explanation. They simply called her the Bee Fairy Lady. For Dr. Hammal, the nickname is about far more than beekeeping.
It reflects her belief that people protect what they understand, and that lasting change can begin by helping someone see a bee differently.
Source: Gulf News
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Meeting Dr. Hammal’s hives at the Jane Goodall Pollinator Garden, we saw how she handles her bees, all without a suit, of course.
Photo: Ahmad Alotbi/Gulf News
