Our Director of Platform Development David Rabe is not only an enthusiastic manager and software developer, but also a passionate beekeeper on the side. He discovered his interest in bees during his time at Kiwigrid.
“The family, the garden and me - everyone is involved.“
This was the motivation behind David's beekeeping career, which began two years ago. In addition to his interest in bees and beekeeping, the idea of giving something back to nature was another reason for starting the bee project. As David has also discovered, beekeeping offers a refreshingcontrast to his daily work on the computer.
“After using so much brainpower developing software everyday at my job, beekeeping is the perfect antidote to unwind and relax.“
But how did David become a hobby beekeeper? In the spring of 2020, during the first lockdown of the Covid pandemic, an internal photo challenge was organized at Kiwigrid, in which the Kiwis were asked to show themselves in their quarantine everyday life. David submitted a photo as a hobby beekeeper and was directly rewarded and provided with the "basic hardware" for his endeavor – a bee box including stand and tools.
To ensure that the bee conservation project is done in the best interest of the hard-working honey producers, David and his family first took part in a professional beekeeping course before setting up the bee box.
But a bee box alone is not enough for beekeeping. To make honey, you need bees. David acquired his first bee colony via eBay from a bee colony seller in Radeberg, Germany, who became David's bee sponsor and continues to support him with all kinds of information and advice. He also gave David the tip to buy at least two to three colonies directly, as virus infestations, for example, can quickly lead to the loss of a colony.
The idea of a single bee colony in the garden has now grown to eleven colonies and David has become an active conservationist. In addition to the beekeeping course, he also completed a seminar for wasp and hornet relocation and was accepted as a contact person for relocation at Naturschutzbund Sachsen.
Already in his first year as a beekeeper, David was able to harvest a proud 15 kg of honey. The clarified drone brood has also been used to make home-made candles, of which a total of 60 were sold during the Christmas season.
Even in the beauty sector, David has something to offer: an all-natural lip balm.
Highly motivated, David is now beginning his second year as a beekeeper. Meanwhile, David also has his own website, where honey and beeswax can be ordered in the online store from June. We are already very much looking forward to the first jars of "Kiwigrid honey", which we hope to be able to taste soon.
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