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November 2008
We have been busy this past year with a number of new and exciting projects.
One of the things that we are excited about is making beeswax foundation from our own organic wax. A grant from
Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education has helped us to purchase equipment and to spread knowledge about the lost art of foundation making.
Wax Foundation is a thin sheet of beeswax embossed with a starter hexagon pattern of the honeycomb cells bees use to store honey. The wax foundation is used help the bees create their honeycomb in wood frames that can be removed from the hive without damaging the honey filled cells. When the bees use the foundation to build comb we are able to remove the honey comb intact in the wooden frame, remove the wax cappings from all the cells, extract the honey and return the emptied honey comb to the bees who then clean, repair and refill the comb with honey. It takes about 7 pounds of honey, metabolized by the bees, for them to create one pound of wax. Wax is made by the bees.
We have completed a renovation of our tour room and have been welcoming more guests to our farm and on a new three farm tour. The three farm tour is a partnership between Volcano Island Honey Co., Mauna Kea Tea, and Long Ears Hawaiian Coffee. Promotion and development of this tour was funded in part by the County of Hawaii- Department of Research and Development.
If you find yourself on the Big Island, please come by to visit!
Aloha,
A Taste of the Magic of Hawaii®
February 2008
As a farmer and a small business person, I have learned to be
flexible, creative and resilient. As someone committed to sustainable
agriculture, I have learned that I can not push nature beyond its
limits, but rather need to work in harmony with what is given.
This year there was a fire in the Puako Forest that burned 50%
of the forest in which we operate. This created a major opportunity
to practice creativity and resiliency!
As the business has grown in size and complexity I found myself
spending more of my time on the phone and computer and hardly any
time in the field. I felt out of touch with nature and with the
bees. We are not sure what, if any, impact the forest fire will
have on our production. It is entirely possible that the kiawe
flower will bloom strong and we will have more honey than ever.
However, we wanted to set ourselves up to win if it turned out
that the reduction of bee habitat resulted in significantly lower
honey production. I made the very difficult business decision to
lay off almost all of our long term staff as a result of the probable
reduced production. This had the effect of getting me back in the
field and becoming more of a “hands on” beekeeper/owner
again. I feel much more in touch with the core of our business
(bees and honey!) and hopeful about the future.
We are looking forward with excitement to growing the business
in new ways in 2008. We are expanding farm visits and education
here at our farm and looking into new products. And of course,
we look forward to continuing to supply you with our delicious
honey.
Aloha,
A Taste of the Magic of Hawaii®
