How do we Work
Bio
The biological approach of managing bee’s culture was always for us an obvious and ideological choice. It was not made for money, or out of fashion. Producing according to bio- principles since 2001 and certified since 2011.
But what Bio- means for Beekeeping?
- We do not position beehives near areas of contamination (motorways, factories, litter drop points that emit heavy metals) or near conventional crops which contain high levels of pesticides.
- We do not use chemical agents as remedies to combat diseases but biological means and the use of natural-technical methods.
- The wax of the cells that bee’s work, live and store the honey at, is devoid of pharmaceutical products
- We do not use methods of developing the beehives based on rapid expansion through alimentation with sugar.
Nomadic
Greece’s climate is mild, warm, and dry at least for most of the southern part of the country where we operate. In this environment flowering is usually of low duration and lower intensity, and the density of beehives (largest in the World!) complicates production. In order to overcome these difficulties that could lead to nutritional stress for the bees we have developed two strategies.
- To stay a long time among pine trees. With their endless honeydew, pine trees allow the ceaseless development of beehives during spring, while securing two successful harvests in August and October.
- To move continuously and between distant territories, chasing flowering periods for the rest of time. We start from the south and near the sea during winter reaching northern states and mountains during the summer. A process of movement with high costs, and intense physical labour for us that we favour as an alternative to the low cost but highly problematic use of sugar to maintain bee population.
Cooperative
We are a cooperative working against exploitation, with a horizontal structure of production that sustain and promote ethical working relationships. We allocate work into particular tasks freely managed by the cooperative members thus succeeding in maintaining a high level of involvement and self-direction. Similarly, we have developed a diverse network of people that share not only the tasks of transport, labor and harvest but also the joys of feasting, companionship and solidarity as principal values of our interactions. A set of values that we believe is as important for the quality of our lives and desires as it is for the quality of our products.