Sustainable honey from the rural Andes

An enterprise provides beekeepers in remote areas with knowledge and support

Spotted: Chile has a long tradition of beekeeping, with almost 9,600 beekeepers managing more than 1.3 million hives across the country. The majority of these are small family farmers who rely on beekeeping as their primary source of income. In addition to producing honey, bees are also essential in pollinating local crops and protecting biodiversity.

Alma de Panal was founded to help these largely rural and semi-rural farmers find more markets for their products and raise awareness of the unique properties of honey produced in the Andes region. Alma de Panal sources sustainable honey and bee products from small beekeepers, paying them fair prices, promoting their products, and expanding exports to the EU market. These premium honey and bee products are sold under the Andes Bee brand.

In addition to fair trade, Alma de Panal also provides its suppliers with technical knowledge to help improve the quality and sustainability of their honey. This is vital, especially as many members of Alma de Panal’s network come from areas where access to resources and formal training is scarce. By equipping its suppliers with this knowledge and support, Alma de Panal’s Andes Bee has increased its suppliers’ income by 35-45 per cent.

Recently, Alma de Panal has gained support from impact investment firm NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship. The organisation will use the funding to launch a tailored supplier development programme for small beekeepers – those with 75 to 350 beehives. The programme will help the beekeepers with management and best practices, supplier registration and certification, and product traceability through QR labelling.

Written By: Lisa Magloff