A buzzing success in apiculture and agriculture

In this first part of a series on successful women farmers in agriculture, Cobus du Plessis speaks to Elizabeth Lamond, a beekeeper in the Marquard region, about her rise in the apiculture industry.

- Cobus du Plessis

Bees are the unsung heroes of the agricultural world. They quietly pollinate crops, ensuring that we have a steady supply of fruits, vegetables, and even the coffee beans that bring us to life in the morning. Yet, around the world, bees are in trouble. Misinformation, habitat loss and irresponsible practices threaten these vital insects. For one South African woman, Elizabeth Lamond, a love of bees, a corporate background, and a determination to protect her country’s apiculture and agriculture ignited a passion for creating change.

“As a child we lived in Phalaborwa and my father had a few hives of bees. His boxes were on my grandparents’ farm out in Bushbuckridge, a healthy foraging area way back in the day. Hence bee farming has always been in my DNA. I have spent a large part of my life in the corporate world involved with strategic financial planning,” says Lamond. Some 17 years ago, Lamond bought a small piece of land in the Marquard area of the Free State. While the farm, Susannaspos, was too small to make a sustainable living from any conventional farming practices, it was big enough to start her own beekeeping business and produce her raw honey, yoUBee Honey. “I did a course in beekeeping in Johannesburg a few years ago and then just got going,” she says.

STEADILY GAINING GROUND 

She says women have steadily been gaining ground in the apiculture industry, and “although in the minority, have staked their claim to fame”.