Stuard Anderson and Cedar Anderson are a father and a son who live in rural Australia and many call them the revolutionaries of beekeeping.
They wanted to come up with a different method to harvest honey-one that doesn’t require a hot and uncomfortable suit, smoking out the bees, and potentially killing them in the process.
The father-son duo worked hard and they accomplished their goal-they created the Flow Hive.
Flow Hive, the New, Easy Way to Collect Honey
The father and son launched the invention some five years ago. This hive releases honey through a tarp. To begin the production, they set a goal of $70,000.
Believe it or not, they reached it within 5 minutes after sharing it online. In 15 minutes, people from around the world helped with a quarter of million dollars.
After the campaign ended, they had collected $12.2 million which gave them the opportunity to help thousands of individuals to become beekeepers.
The Fast Company awarded the Flow Hive for 2016 World Changing Idea. And, a second version of their Flow Hive was crowdfunded back in 2018 and they raised $1,500,000.
Their amazing idea spread fast, mostly because of how attractive it is. Namely, rather than the old school method of removing boxes one at a time to collect the honey which can be time-consuming and make the bees nervous, the Flow Hive eases the harvesting.
It uses artificial honeycombs which the bees fill up with honey and cover them with wax. And, then, through a window on one side of the hive, the beekeepers can check up on the bees.
When the comb becomes filled with honey, they twist it out using a lever. Indeed, the process of twisting out the combs to release honey is amazing and so satisfying.
And, it disturbs the bees minimally.
Innovations Like these Are Pivotal so We Can Protect Our Eco System
Co-founder Cedar Anderson said for the Flow Hive that there’s a human fascination with the ‘let’s turn a handle, press one button, and produce will come out’.
He explains that their design allows beautiful produce right away and reduces the footprint in your backyard or rooftop.
Another factor he loves a lot is how much it helps connect the beekeeper with the natural food.
They’ve had people come to them and say that this helped them get their children out of their iPads and harvesting honey instead, spending time in nature, and learning about the world we’re all dependent on.
The duo believes that the Flow Hive has been so supported by the public because of its global scale importance. Unfortunately, insects are in reduction worldwide and bees are facing challenging times due to pesticide overuse.
Many of the farming methods today aren’t the best out there for these important pollinators and many other pivotal insects in our system.
Sources: