Hive five for successful bee farmer
Entering the farm, one is greeted by a bee-friendly garden with indigenous plants. There are several unique plants rarely seen in and around Tubatse. Among the plants kept in the farmer’s garden, are Margaret Roberts, English and French lavenders, basil, rosemary, aloes, sage plants and many more.
OHRIGSTAD – Bees are a dangerous species that produce a tasty honey loved by many South Africans. A local farmer has perfected the art of harvesting honey and is making a living out of it. Frans Labuschagne not only produces the tasty, raw honey, he recently won an award in this field too.
In May, Labuschagne was honoured with the first prize at the KwaZulu-Natal Honey Show. He won the award in the class 1 liquid light category. Steelburger/Lydenburg News recently visited the hardworking and
determined farmer at his home outside Ohrigstad.
“My passion for beekeeping started years ago. I saw a gap in this field and was determined to succeed in it. I read books and surfed the internet on how to master this art,” he told this reporter, speaking in fluent
Sepedi.
Entering the farm, one is greeted by a bee-friendly garden with indigenous plants. There are several unique plants rarely seen in and around Tubatse. Among the plants kept in the farmer’s garden, are Margaret Roberts, English and French lavenders, basil, rosemary, aloes, sage plants and many more.
“Bees play a major role in our ecosystem and creating a beefriendly garden is a must, given the decline in their population, which is mainly due to climate change and industrial agriculture,” revealed Labuschagne.
The plants in the garden not only attract bees, but are also used in manufacturing perfumes and soaps. “In future we will trim the plants and extract oils that we sell for manufacturing various perfumes.”
He often gets calls from nearby farmers asking him to come and collect bees. “I don’t like it when people just kill them. Bees are life,” said the Limpopo farmer, who is registered with the South African Bee
Industry Organisation.
In producing the honey, Labuschagne also designs the beehives in his yard. “I work with two assistants to design the hives. We use different wooden planks; it can be a pine or even jacaranda.
“We carefully select the frames ready to be harvested. We remove the bees and we transfer those frames to an interior space where honeybees or other insects cannot enter. We then carefully remove the wax off the frame.
“We put our frames in the honey extractor and pure honey flows into our containers.”
He reiterated that his honey is among the best in the market. “I can guarantee that my honey hasn’t been tampered with and our bees were not fed artificial nutrients.”
According to Labuschagne, the honey is sold all over South Africa, “We courier some to provinces in South Africa and our neighbouring countries.
It is also sold in local markets. We sell our 500-gram jars of raw honey for a lowly R60.”
According to healthline.com, one of the benefits of raw honey is that it is a good source of antioxidants; it soothes a sore throat and also heals wounds.
