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PHILOSOHPHY

Beekeeping As A Sustainable Way To Help Bees Globally

Bees are endangered globally. As a keystone species in the ecosystem, we urgently need to be doing more to preserve them and see to their wellbeing. We believe in beekeeping as a sustainable means to do this. We provide them with a clean, well looked after home and see to their basic needs, while they provide us with the liquid gold.

Making Quality Honey Available at Affordable Prices To All

With so much rubbish available on the market giving a bad name to the industry, we strive to bring the very best quality honey to you at a reasonable price. Our honey is 100% natural, unadulterated and non-irradiated. You get it as it is in the hive. Capped honey frames are removed from the hives, spun into buckets and then bottled.

Home Of The Unique Cape Honeybee, Apis mellifera capensis

Here in the Western Cape, we have a unique subspecies of the Western Honeybee (Apis mellifera) called capensis. Far more docile than the scutellata subspecies found through the rest of South Africa, our honeybee is a lot more pleasant to work with. They also have unique genetic breeding abilities giving them a major advantage over the rest.

PHILOSOPHY

2018

Year Established

Active Colonies

Harvests

1842

Jars of Honey Sold

ABOUT

We are a father and son team of DALLRD and WCBA registered beekeepers based in the Helderberg basin, WC, South Africa. Inspired by his grandfather who started keeping bees in Gauteng in 2017, Reece decided to invest in a hive and get started in the Western Cape in January 2018. Under the kind mentorship of local beekeepers, what started as a single hive hobby quickly grew into a small business. Reece managed to rope his father (Wayne) in as a financial partner, also training him in the art of beekeeping, and so RWD Honeybees was incepted. Since then the business has been on a consistent upward trajectory with plans to reach capacity of 20 colonies by end 2023. Over time friends and family have become involved to lend a hand with the heavy lifting when necessary and to host hives on their property. Outside of beekeeping, Reece is a medical student at the University of Cape Town, and Wayne a software development engineering manager at Amazon.

ABOUT

GALLERY

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KEEPING BEES?

Why Not Host a Hive For Us?

If you would like to do your part in helping save the bees, but don't want the responsibility of managing them, why not consider hosting one of our hives on your property? We provide the bees, the equipment and do all of the leg work year-round. In exchange, you receive a portion of the annual honey crop in lieu of rent. Due to the costs involved with travelling, equipment and the like, we will first need to come and inspect the property to find an ideal location and work out how many hives would need to be placed to justify the costs. We would also need to do a forage audit in the area to ensure the bees will have sufficient forage available to feed them. But as far as easy honey right from your garden goes, this is the answer. From our experience with these arrangements, hosts end up completely falling in love with the bees. Contact us below

Interested In Becoming A Beekeeper?

If you would like to get involved fully and become a beekeeper, please feel free to contact us using the details below. We will gladly advise you on what you will need to get started and connect you with local beekeeping forums. Upon request, we can arrange for you to accompany us on a visit to the apiary to get some firsthand experience on the hives. We also have the details of some brilliant beginner beekeeping courses offered nearby. So if you fancy yourself a potential beekeeper, please don't hesitate to reach out. Part of our mission is to spread the passion for bees.

A great place to start for anyone just looking to learn more is what is fondly known as "The Blue Book" - Beekeeping in SA. It is your one stop shop for a little bit of information on all aspects of beekeeping, relevant to South Africa specifically.