In September 2014, we started the Jamaica Women Bee Farmers Association. This organization supports women beekeepers who are interested in making their operations more economically and environmentally sustainable. So far, we have had monthly trainings that covered Top Bar Hive Management, Colony Health Assessment, Value Added Products and Making Honey Wine. The trainings are led…
Author: Yerba Buena Farm Jamaica
Committed to practising and promoting sustainable agriculture, we enjoy organic farming, growing mushrooms, soap making, natural building, top bar beekeeping and more. We offer internship opportunities and welcome guests interested in getting to know the real Jamaica through ecotourism or community tourism.
2013 Intern Emily Erickson’s Honey Harvest
2013 Intern Emily Erickson is a star! Here she is, harvesting honey from her top bar hive in California. Great job, Emily!
Beautiful Hives
One thing we like to do is to always try to improve the hives that we use in our apiaries. If something is difficult or irritating about inspecting, moving, or using a hive, we make a note of it and change the design of future hives. The booklet that we give to people, How to…
Trainer Tom’s New Blog
Veteran trainer Tom Hebert, who has volunteered his time with us every July for the past three years, has finally started his own blog: Musings on Beekeeping. We’re lucky enough to be featured in Tom’s postings regularly, which is fun (especially for our kids). Please remember to like his blog so that you don’t miss…
Hanna!
Hanna, a summer 2014 intern, just returned to our farm in December for a quick winter visit. This summer, she worked on a special project, but ended up giving her energy to all sorts of different jobs. Hanna got to know the people in our town in a very intimate way, doing in-depth interviews toward…
Summer 2014 with Trainer Tom Hebert
Tom Hebert, a three-year Farmer-to-Farmer trainer at Yerba Buena Farm, spent July 2014 teaching beekeepers an easy record keeping method and leading Build Your Own Foundation Mold workshops. Unfortunately, I’m not able to upload the pictures I need to document his time here this past summer. He visited a Blue Mountain coffee farm and traveled…
2013 Intern Emily Erickson in Uganda
2013 intern Emily Erickson from UC Davis went to Uganda for over a month in 2014 to teach about top bar hives. Check out the slideshow for images of two beautifully painted hives. Emily is a powerhouse of bee energy and talent!
Intern Taylor McMahon Teaches Top Bar Hives!
Summer 2013 intern Taylor McMahon returned this past summer to help us work on starting an accredited bee school. She also researched ways for Jamaica bee farmers can go to America and Canada and work for large commercial beekeepers. And here she is at a Sustainability Workshop in America, teaching attendees about top bar hives….
Intern Kaat Byrd Publishes Article
2013/2014 intern Kaat Byrd published an article in the Kelley Beekeeping newsletter. You can read the article on page 15. Bee Thinking About It Takes a Community to Raise Bees…& Beekeepers by Kaat Byrd The future generations of beekeepers are in our midst. Those inspired today and tomorrow will help to carry the torch in…
James!
Hello, James. You left a while ago – months and months ago, actually. Just because I am a lazy blogger doesn’t mean that you weren’t a memorable intern. You kept me laughing, even when getting stung by bees or bitten by ants. Diligent, motivated and hard-working, you took care of business and, I hope, left with…
Yerba Buena Farm Jamaica 