I started beekeeping initially as a hobby. The idea was to establish some hives on our smallholding in the Elandskraal area of Knysna, as a means of generating some income through the sale of honey. Since then, I’ve established in excess of 20 apiaries situated with more than 170 of my owned and managed hives in Franschoek, Stanford, Cape Peninsula and the Garden Route.
In 2017 our Elandskraal farm was destroyed by fire. Unfortunately, we also lost 10 productive hives in the destruction that followed. This fire was followed by a severe drought in 2017 and devastating fires in Franschoek in 2019. Whilst we didn’t lose any hives (these were evacuated in time), we’ve lost valuable forage for our bees. It was soon evident that beekeeping in South Africa, was challenging and draining.
In 2018 we started pollinating for growers in the Ceres, Wellington and Robertson areas. This has grown tremendously as fruit growers increase plantings by as much as 95% over a 5-year period.
Our biggest challenge remains finding safe, secure and suitable sites for our bees.