In Australia, we we produce one of the cleanest honeys in the world but imported, low-priced honey makes it harder for our small beekeepers to make a living and yet, they are the key to keeping bee populations healthy into the future.
This project will allow beekeepers to share a facility to extract and bottle their honey as well as a place to learn from each other and from experts improving their chances of having a sustainable business.
WHO ARE WE?
Sven and I started beekeeping by chance. The crowd funding campaign for the FlowHive caught our attention and as we dove down the Google rabbit hole we realised that bees were facing serious problems all over the world.
Inspired, we decided to do our bit, put a couple of hives in our yard and help local bee populations.
We joined the Central Coast Beekeepers Association, Sven put his name on the Swarm List and we got busy building and painting a few boxes, super excited to host our new little friends.
As it turns out, it is very common for colonies of bees to settle in the most inconvenient of places, like school yard trees, house walls, and Telstra boxes, and some beekeepers think it’s too messy to remove those colonies. But not Sven, he thrived on those challenging jobs and he was able to put his experience in the building industry to good use.
And so it came to pass that after 4 months we had 35 hives and Sven had discovered his true calling. Being interested in beekeeping when he was young, but growing up in East Germany, with little opportunity to become an apiarist, Sven had to wait another 35 years to follow his dream.
To support our growing family we bought a property in the beautiful Mid North Coast, dominated by bush and backing onto a National Park. It is the perfect place for our foraging bees.
In September 2017 we took the plunge and decided to make this side gig our full-time job. We started doing markets every weekend, building a network of retailers, increasing our product range and of course we continued rescuing colonies.
We currently have over 130 hives and growing.
Five per cent of all our sales go to Save the Bees Australia as our way to contribute to a better future for bees and beekeepers in Australia.
Below what Simon from Save the Bees Australia says about Amber Drop Honey
So, why not leave it at that? Because we, as newcomers to this industry, can see there is room for improvement. And we are passionate about doing everything we can for a better future for bees.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES WE SEE IN THE BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY?
Increased Regulations - will make it more difficult for small beekeepers to bottle their honey for direct public consumption. The cost of setting up a extraction and bottling facility is prohibitively expensive for most small producers.
An aging Apiarist population - a large percentage of beekeepers in Australia are nearing retirement age. Who will carry the industry into the future? Will they be able to run a viable business?
Increased stress on bees - According to the DPI, in 2013-2014 in Australia, eight out of every ten hives were held by just 11% of the nation's beekeepers. Large commercial operations are not as gentle to the bees as small-scale beekeeping. It’s not really their fault, just like it happens in other farming industries, the profit margins are low, so it’s all about the turnover and the animals are treated more like a commodity.
Hard Working Conditions - Working in a suit in the sun, moving heavy boxes and buckets of honey, getting stung often…who is crazy enough to want to do that? It is clear that beekeeping is a profession best suited to slightly deranged people who are passionate about bees. However, everyone (even crazy people) need to eat and pay bills, which brings us to the next issue.
Low honey prices - generally because of relaxed import laws, major honey suppliers in Australia can import honey from China for as little as $2 per kilo, which in turns lowers our market price. This means the only way for independent beekeepers to develop a sustainable and profitable business is to market directly to consumers.
As population growth and job availability continues to decline in regional Australia, beekeeping could be a very fulfilling career path if some of the barriers of entry (like the expense of buying bees and specialised equipment) were lower.
THE SOLUTION?
We believe it is essential for small beekeepers to join forces and work together to achieve:
Smaller Operations - that are able to run sustainable businesses by marketing their products directly to the public and therefore keeping a bigger slice of the pie allowing them to be more patient and caring to the bees.
Support for local producers - because the product to the consumer is of greater quality and better for the health of the bee population.
Industry Growth - by training young adults or people looking for a sea change, in all aspects of beekeeping and running their own business. We want them to see it as a viable career path whilst instilling respect for the bees and the environment.
Increased Hive Rescue - by training other beekeepers to rescue hives. It is admittedly a bit of hard work but a cheaper way of getting bees and it helping to keep genetic diversity in the bee population.
In summary, we want beekeepers to be just that, THE KEEPERS OF THE BEES and to be able to make a living doing it.
AND YOU CAN HELP US!
What are we going to do with your money?
We want to set up a portable building on our farm that can be used as a training, extracting and bottling facility that can be shared by other beekeepers. Something like the one on the photo below would be ideal.
We are allowing $25,000 for the building and $3,000 for delivery and $2,000 for water and electricity connection.
Sample of the type of building we are looking at.
OUR TIPPING POINT OF $30,000 WILL ALLOW US TO:
- grow our business and be able to rescue more bees
- have a place to train other people in beekeeping
- share the facility with other smaller beekeepers and create a cooperative community.
We already have some second hand equipment that we bought in excellent condition:
- a 48 frame extractor
- an uncapping machine
- a capping spinner
and they are all lying in our shed feeling unappreciated because we don’t have a room big enough to put them in. But, that means, we are rearing ready to go once we plonk the building down by our house.
Yes, they look a bit dusty, but they will be shiny in no time.
OUR STRETCH GOAL OF $50,000 WILL ALLOW US TO:
- install a water tank with a pump. We don't have town water at the farm and cleaning beekeeping equipment is sticky business that needs quite a bit of water.
- get a bottling machine. It would allow everyone to be more efficient, filling to the exact gram without concentrating on each bottle whilst avoiding over-spillage (we haven't mastered the art of being fully present yet)
- install an reverse cycle air-conditioner. Now you probably think we are trying to live the high life here, but it is a known fact that every beekeeper likes to work with runny honey. In winter, you need to make sure the room you are working in is at around 25 degrees at least. Also, it is good practice to run workshops without people passing out in the heat or freezing to death.
- get a wax melter. This would an indispensable and energy-efficient tool for everyone to process their wax that can be then reused to make foundation for the frames, candles, skin care products etc
- get a labelling machine. Again, this would improve efficiency and allow a better use of everyone's time.
We have partnered with Save The Bees Australia and they receive 5% of all our gross sales. We want to have a business that has a purpose and can do good every time we make a sale.
Anyone that watches Sven working with the bees will realise very quickly that he was born for this. He has this innate sense for what he should do next, what a hive needs and a calmness around them that is almost zen-like.
HOW YOU CAN HELP.
Support our campaign by choosing one (or more, who are we to curb your generosity?) of our rewards and sharing the campaign with your friends.
WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?
We are glad you asked...
A cool bag for your environmentally friendlier shopping.
A little bag for a special someone.
A honey subscription for you or a loved one
A beautiful box of goodies to delight anyone.
Your own private label honey.
One of our groovy bamboo t-shirts.
Highly nutritious W.A. bee pollen for your smoothies.
Our beeswax blend logs to make your own wraps.
