Some cliff honey is guarded by people living in nearby villages, who are called "honey guardians". The guardians are usually prestigious people in the village. In the past, collective farming, including gathering honey, could decrease the risk to survival. For example, each family sent out a person to gather honey with the others, and got their own portion afterwards, each receiving different proportions. Some took cliff honey to the market to swap for groceries. The tradition of half farming and half collecting is common in mountain areas in Yunnan province.

But nowadays, there is an increasing demand for raw honey from people living in cities, and honey can be delivered thousands of kilometers away through e-business and online shops. A guardian whose nickname is Sige thinks this is progress, that the internet has infinitely compressed the distance among honey hunters, honey gatherers, and honey guardians. Many of them have become good friends since honey hunters are quite honest withthe buyers. Villagers believe this is a highly efficient and economical profit-earning method.