smoke & hive
“My story starts from a family tradition of caring for nature, beekeeping, bees and honey passed down through generations. I was first introduced to beekeeping in the 1970s and have strong memories of beekeeping at a village school in Wales. We learned to care for bees at a very young age, how to harvest the honey sustainably, firing our own clay honey pots and selling honey locally to support the school. Our rural and rich experience even extended to spinning wool from the school sheep!
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Over the years we have continued to support the bees by planting for pollinators, cooking, smoking and preserving artisan food with honey. Our adventure with bees was reignited with a long drive across the UK to rescue 100,000 bees in the back of the car, and from that point smoke & hive was born (with thanks to Pete).
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Today we manage large numbers of bee colonies in woodlands, forests and wildflower meadows across Hertfordshire, based on sustainable practices and wholesome values, to produce raw honey of the highest quality and to support our honeybees and pollinators. Our goal is to preserve native bees and spread our love for honey for future generations.
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Lastly we are also a registered food business within St Albans and fully food safety trained to give you greater confidence in our approach to managing food production to the highest standards as well as active members of our local beekeeping association."
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Thanks!
Neil