[ entrepreneurship ]
Appalachian
Beekeeping Collective
CATHY BONNSTETTER
DR. JAMES WILSON
Taking the Sting
Out of Southern
West Virginia’s
Sluggish Economy
Over the past several years,
mainstream media has been
buzzing about the decline in
the number of honeybees in
the U.S. The most commonly
used commercial pollinators
in the country, honeybees contribute $15 billion to the U.S.
economy every year according to the Planet Bee Foundation.
As a result, Appalachian Headwaters opened the Appala-
chian Beekeeping Collective at Camp Lightfoot in Hinton,
WV, in 2016 when the nonprofit discovered that one piece of
its mission puzzle—a strong environment to boost a strong
economy—was golden, sweet and sticky. Honey and the bees
that make it have the potential to provide both an environ-
mental and economic boost to West Virginia, and the collec-
tive is dedicated to training and mentoring beekeepers while
assisting them with overcoming barriers to achieve these goals.
The collective recently graduated its first class of natural bee-
keepers and plans to sell Appalachian Mountain raw honey—
the natural honey made by the bees in these synthetic, chemical-
free and pesticide-free hives—are in the works for next year.
The collective will act as the honey aggregator.
“We have the ability and finances to do this in a way that
individually someone could not,” says Terri Giles, vice presi-
dent of government relations at Appalachian Headwaters. “I
see our market on the internet as well as in urban marketplaces.
We think the product speaks for itself. We know where every
drop of honey comes from that we bottle, and we also have a
compelling story. This is a heritage product.”
The first free, five-week natural beekeeping courses were
offered in Summers, Greenbrier, Mercer, Fayette and Raleigh
counties. The course was developed by Parry Kietzman, Ph.D.,
head of education and research for the Appalachian Beekeeping
Collective. Today, 35 course graduates are keeping their own
hives. The collective supplied them with the bees, hives and
paraphernalia to launch their enterprises.
“Beekeeping is expensive,” says Mark Lilly, Eastern Apicul-
tural Society and West Virginia Certified Master Beekeeper.
“We started the program to help supplement incomes in the
southern coal fields, an area affected by the downturn of
mining jobs.”
The group also provides mentorship to ensure its part-
ners’ success. According to Carie Ortman, farmer, beekeeper
and part-time collective employee, although she had tried
beekeeping before, it was during her class that she learned how
to be successful at it. She now keeps 14 hives.
As partners grow their number of hives, the bees will help
bring foliage back to reclaimed mining areas through pollina-
tion, and eventually they will boost the beekeepers’ pocketbooks
with honey sales. Beekeeping also boosts emotional well-being.
The U.S. Army advocates beekeeping as a possible aid for
post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
“There is peacefulness about it,” says Ortman. “The bees
are humming and dancing and talking to each other. These
are amazing creatures.”
A new beekeeping class will begin in January, and the col-
lective hopes to add an additional intermediate class as well.
The organization’s model is also creating a buzz in educa-
tion, research and economic stimulation conversations. Groups
from Virginia Tech and other beekeeping researchers have
come to visit the facility in Summers County, and according to
Kietzman, the collective plans on breeding survivor stock that
does well in this region to sustain the growth of the program.
“We want to grow sustainably,” says Lilly. “We don’t want
to bring so many bees into an area that they crowd out other
pollinators. We want to grow out using satellite facilities
throughout the surrounding states.”
The collective keeps at least 500 hives—natural beekeeping
on a scale unheard of elsewhere. This unique model is a great
fit for what ails the Mountain State and its citizens, according
to Giles.
“We can satisfy two things at once—the environmental
damage to our waters and mountains and the damage to our
communities with jobs leaving,” she says. “Eventually these
people will become master beekeepers and can really build a
business from it. We are a community, a family. Can we turn
the key on this and become a center for the world’s best honey?
I don’t see any reason why we can’t.”
“There is peacefulness about
it. The bees are humming and
dancing and talking to each other.
These are amazing creatures.”
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE