"No Bees – No Food" large bee colony project on Indiegogo

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/no-bees-no-food

It's a shame that this woman has not received a dime. She is doing A LOT of work.

"This campaign will receive all funds raised even if it does not reach its goal."

Maybe we won't be able to help her get the total funds she needs (though, I don't see why not considering the connections people have here) but I think a large portion of it is doable.

Please share this project through social media etc.

hmm. she needs $1000 per colony. I think I could do it for rather less than that. likely in the vicinity of $50. which isn't to say her project is not worthwhile. I just, you know, wonder about her figures.

I don't know a whole lot about beekeeping but I do wonder why no one has contributed. Maybe that's why... Then again, maybe bees are more expensive in Germany.

if she's already maintaining between 25 and 150 hives, the bees themselves should be free. a healthy colony will usually swarm at least once each year. that's the first red flag fort me.

reading further, she's factoring in a lot of money for the physical hives as well as shelters to house multiple hives. the initial expense she gives appears to be for nucs. she's either buying nucs or creating them herself. either way, that's not exactly my cup of tea. "as close to natural as possible" that is not. and I think I built my first hive shelter for around $40. out can house 12 hives, though I no longer believe that's a good idea. my hives cost anywhere from $20 to $100 in materials, though there is considerable labor involved in making them, and my tools weren't free. last I calculated it, I believe bait hives involve about $15 in materials and their effectiveness improves with use.

further expense is devoted to moveable frames. again, not my favorite. it isn't explicitly stated on the indiegogo page, but it appears that she at least foregoes foundation, which is good.

she goes on to mention "bee food" and hive maintenance as expenses. last I checked, bee food is honey and bee bread, made from nectar and pollen. they collect and process those on their own unless artificially stimulated colony growth is the goal. "maintenance" in my experience of frame beekeepers includes a variety of invasive and counterproductive hive manipulations. they're a lot of work and, from my point of view at least, don't do the bees or the beekeeper any good.

I haven't visited the website she linked, so I can't honestly claim to know a whole lot about her methods, but what I saw on the indiegogo page doesn't impress me.

I watched her presentation, I am seriously not being cynical here, but it appears she is just trying to start a beekeeping business. All of her goals and reasons for her business are noble but pretty much the same as all of us bee lovers. I am lucky in that I entered beekeeping never intending to make it a source of income. I did it because I love bees and realizing that just having bees makes a huge difference in the world. My neighbors love seeing my bees on their blossoms. I have lived within my financial means with my beekeeping,(most of the time). I am an old man and one thing a long life on the farm has taught me is that when I attempted to make money with any living creatures, I started to treat them differently. Using them to pay my bills became the most important aspect of having them. That mind set takes away a certain interaction or relationship with other living creatures that I enjoy. So I don't mind working my regular 9 to 5 job to support my "second job" on the farm here.