Mirana Ilieva is a chemical engineer by profession but an apitherapist at heart and has been into bee products for as long as she can remember. Her grandmother dabbled in herbs and taught her to recognize them. Later, her mother taught her a great deal until finally she herself got down to studying herb application. Then, after graduation she became a chemical engineer, until one day she discovered her true vocation:
“Years ago we were looking for ways to supplement our family budget and we came up with all sorts of ideas, but none that grabbed us. Then all of a sudden it dawned on us – beekeeping. It was rather comic – one Christmas we were sitting down at table and one of the guests said something about beekeeping. My husband put the horse to the cart and went out – he came back with two beehives in the middle of winter – people usually buy beehives in springtime. So, that’s how we started keeping bees. But when we got the hives in the courtyard, we realized we had no idea what to do. So we had to start courses.”
They got help from the same person who had given them the beekeeping idea and it took them a year to learn the intricacies of the trade. Finding out more and more about beekeeping, Mirana started mixing medicinal concoctions, based on honey products and herbs:
“Until my husband retired I made my own face creams and ointments, just for my own use and for friends. I had often wondered where my flair for herbs came from, until Emil Elmazov, a prominent scholar told me: “You were born on June 24, you came into this world with a mission!” he said. I started out with propolis – we made a very nourishing propolis vaseline with pronounced curative properties. Later, my granddaughter had a skin problem and we spent a lot of money on expensive cosmetics but to no avail. But I had chanced upon a book on apitherapy – there I found the ingredients for a face cream using vaseline and wax. I started experimenting – I added marigold, olive oil, vitamin A, until I got the right proportions. So, I made a face cream and a lotion. And all the ingredients are right there, in my garden – salvia, for example is an excellent choice.”
Around ten years ago Mirana got a severe allergy from the chemicals she worked with. So, in search of a cure for herself, she came up with a face cream made of herbs, honey, wax and royal jelly. And as the cream had an excellent effect, she offered it to friends and acquaintances:
“I have other ideas as well. It is not enough to create a new product, you have to have it in stock and offer a wide range of products as well. And that is by no means easy – our products are hand-made. We have, in fact, gone back to the most ancient knowledge of cosmetics and way of life. This is something that has always existed, all we have to do is look for it and use it.”
English: Milena Daynova
On this day 35 years ago, the authoritarian regime of communist dictator Todor Zhivkov collapsed. To mark the anniversary, the BGNES news agency carried out a survey of monuments to totalitarianism. The agency checked whether the monuments of the..
Residents and guests of the village of Kolena, Stara Zagora Municipality, gather for the Young Wine Festival. The event was celebrated for the first time in 2017, and a few years later the local teacher and winemaker Martin Slavov gave the..
The tallest Ferris wheel in Bulgaria will rise above Pleven , announced regional governor Nikolay Abrashev. It will be built in a multifunctional complex near the Kaylaka Park. "The project envisages the construction of a Ferris wheel with a..
Two graduates of the Bulgarian School "Saints Cyril and Methodius" in Jordan presented their achievements at an event at their school "Hadi al Muhammadi"..
1000 participants will take part in the first Burgas Half Marathon, which will take place this Sunday, 24 November. The event will bring together..
Radmila Sekerinska from North Macedonia appointed NATO Deputy Secretary General NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has appointed Radmila Sekerinska..
+359 2 9336 661