Bongi Bees honey farm owner Lulama Letlape (L) and her assistant, Kester Muthambira, harvest honey during The Citizen's visit at her farm situated in Rayton, Pretoria East, 24 April 2023. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
In 2017, Lulama Lulu Letlape was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease, which caused her mind and body to crumble slowly. Her health forced her to change her eating habits and environment – to preserve her mind and body.
Soon a mutual relationship began between her failing body and the endangered specie of bees.
Her orchard farm in Rayton, in the rural parts of Pretoria East, became a haven for her body, her family, and the 100 bee hives she now keeps in her backyard.
“I decided to move to a place that would accommodate my health. My body requires a healthy environment and healthy eating,” expresses Letlape.
“Owning these acres of land for farming did not change the fact that I had no idea how to look after livestock or how to garden, yet I had always loved and been fascinated by bees,” says Letlape – so bees became the natural solution.
She said the enzyme from raw honey has helped her immune system stay balanced and stronger.
“By replacing sugar with drops of honey every morning in my tea, although there may not be science backing this, I began feeling much better. Bees became a representation of my health,” expresses Letlape.
For centuries, bees have worked antennae to hand with humans in being responsible for food production worldwide.
Through pollination, honeybees contribute to approximately one-third of the human dietary supply. Bees are not only of value to nature but also to the economy.
Yet due to climate change, large-scale changes in land use, industrialised poor farming practices and the harmful use of pesticides – have all contributed to destroying their habitats and reducing their available food sources.
Read: Europe’s bees stung by climate, pesticides and parasites
In the past few years, seeing these buzzing bees has become a sight for sore eyes.
“Owning something as rare as bees these days feels so special,” emphasises Letlape. Environmentalists and people like beekeepers are constantly working to educate people on the importance of preserving this specie, understanding their value for food security and purifying the environment.
“I’ve come to understand that only a few fully understand bees. Letting bees die is killing the future of food,” said Letlape.
She said the truth is humans cannot manually do what bees do during pollination.
“I began with only 4 boxes of bees producing honey for my personal use. Soon my neighbours and friends began asking to buy honey from me,” says Letlape. So the 4 boxes turned to 100.
It became clear to Letlape that there was a need for raw honey in the community. From there, her business ‘Bongi Bees Honey‘ was born, specialising in:
“The industry is very hidden and white-dominated,” discovered Letlape. “So, as a black woman, it became important for me to submerge myself in different parts of the business and succeed,” she says.
“The SAB Foundation helped me to start looking at what I am doing as a business, but above that. I was impressed to have been able to receive funding in my senior age.”
Since joining the SAB Foundation, she has been able to grow her business from 20 beehives to now 100 and to get a container where she now sells honey from, prior she would be selling outside her gate on a table.
“There was no reason to fund me. I am old, and this is my first business, and I wasn’t making much profit,” says Letlape. She believes it was her passion that gave her the opportunity. “I was aware of what value my business had, which is important when trying to get support,” she explains.
Letlape’s farm is a bee paradise, with rows of fruits for the bees to stay happy and three different apiaries to keep them separate so no fights break out between the families.
She has also found the sweet spot, working with other farmers around her, by placing some of her bees in their farms so they can enjoy something different growing on their land.
“I’m grateful to the bees,” Letlape says. “The challenge is that my customer needs to understand that it is all seasonal.”
“The biggest lesson I have learnt from being around bees is to learn to be patient. You don’t demand honey from them. You try to guide, but everything is bees decided.”
Also Read: Farmers are irreplaceable, but face insurmountable challenges
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
