Natural approaches to beekeeping - you mean organic, right?

When I teach a beekeeping class, talk with new beekeepers, or experienced beekeepers looking for a more natural approach, it's clear that we're throwing around terms that may or may not be used interchangeably.      I  have begun using 'natural beekeeping' as a nice broad term for various approaches of beekeeping that support the health of the honey bee.  (btw - if it was 1991, we'd just go with 'alternative' beekeeping, right?)

Other terms you might hear: 

Organic beekeeping/organic honey:  You might already know that there's really no actual organic honey,  as we cannot control where the bees forage.   Many people don't realize, though, how chemical heavy and manipulative conventional beekeeping has gotten.   Honey bees have not been exempt from the chemicalization and control that have come with industrialized agriculture.   Here's a great link to read a more in depth article about the realities of 'organic' honey in the U.S.  

One phrase that makes sense to me is 'organically managed beekeeping', used by Craig, the self titled "South Maryland Beekeeper"  He's got a really interesting podcast that I've enjoyed listening to.   The term he uses makes more sense.  The beekeeper can control what they put into the hive, so it's really the beekeeper's methods that are organic.  

Still, organic can sometimes come up short as a term.  It refers more to the fact that chemicals are not used in the hive, but perhaps refers to not much else about the conditions of the honey bee or the beekeepers approach.  Plus, when you buy organic honey from Brazil  in the supermarket, you're missing out of the health benefits and community benefits from getting honey from your local beekeeper.   Most farmer's markets now feature a local beekeeper or two, if you have any trouble finding local honey.  

By the way, be sure to support and encourage your local beekeepers who don't use antibiotics , chemicals, or feed high fructose corn syrup to their bees.  Many do. 

Biodynamic beekeeping is a specific approach to natural beekeeping.  I am drawn to Gunther Hauk and his biodynamic approach to beekeeping because it makes sense to me - do things that will strengthen the bees, not weaken them.  Approach the bees in ways that works with them, not against them.   If you want to know more about the nitty gritty of biodynamics,  here's a great link:  http://www.biodynamics.com/biodynamics

Gunther Hauk speaks to other root problems we've gotten ourselves into with honey bees and beekeeping - with solutions offered in his book Toward Saving the Honeybee.

Of course there is the Barefoot Beekeeper, Phil Chandler, who talks about chemical free approaches to beekeeping, and focuses on using top bar hives.    He also has some excellent podcasts, plus free resources, online trainings, etc.   He is a gift to beekeepers around the world.   Phil also seems to like the 'natural beekeeping' as a comprehensive term, and started the Natural Beekeeping Forum.  

My friend Sara is exploring the use of  small cell honeycomb and recommends Michael Bush's website as a great resource:  http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm  The idea behind small cell foundation is that the bees then build a smaller cell in the comb which seems to be an effective way to help control the ubiquitous varroa mite. 

An exciting option that I've stumbled upon is with Certified Naturally Grown, which has developed some apiary standards which have a "primary focus on the health of honey bees and the sustainability of beekeeping."   They have developed a nice guide of best practices and standards which brings another level of quality and health to the honey bee conversation.    I'll be excited to see this process applied by local beekeepers, and would love to help get it as the standard operating procedure for local apiaries.  


You can see there are lots of options and resources out there to approach beekeeping in a way different from what has become the conventional approach.   Creating these communities to support each other locally and in the broadest of international scope will help us find solutions to our honey bee crisis.   We need each other to learn from, talk with, make mistakes together, and share successes together.  

As we venture toward saving the honeybee (to borrow a beloved phrase from Gunther Hauk) we'll continue to develop this common language that includes an understanding of all of these wonderful ways of natural beekeeping.