A bee hive design just raised $2.2 Million in 24 hours. With 40 days to go, there is likely a few million to be added. The list of reasons why it has raised so much is lengthy, but the top reason is simple–people love them some fresh, hot bee-squeezed honey. The Flow Hive makes it dead simple to harvest the liquid gold with a unique hive design that changes the entire process of collecting. It is absolutely ingenious and, from the response of avid apiarist and urban beekeeper alike, the effect this could have on the beekeeping industry, and those interested in saving the bees, is immense.
Easy on the Bees
The Flow Hive takes the arduous process of collecting honey and turns it into the flip of a spigot. Stuart Anderson, with his son Cedar, has spent the last ten years discovering and testing better ways to raise bees and collect the fruits of their labor. They’ve succeeded gloriously with a honeycomb design that can be retrofitted into existing hives or purchased with everything you need to start your own hive (minus the bees).
The father/son team set out to raise funds through an Indiegogo campaign with a $70,000 USD goal. They hit it easily in the first day, and now near the $3 Million mark. The campaign video illustrates exactly what this hive is capable of in alleviating the aggravations of beekeeping both for the beekeeper as well as the bees.
The solution that avoids the entire process of removing and harvesting honey from the frames lies in the design of the honeycomb structure with the frame. The actual honeycomb is synthetic, allowing the bees to begin filling the cells immediately. With a clear housing, you can see the bees at work and tell right away when the honey is ready to be harvested. There’s no need to remove the frames however. With a crank inserted at the top of the hive, the honeycomb cells are split, creating a cascading structure for the honey to flow down and out through the collection tubes, leaving the bees and the hive completely undisturbed. The crank is turned back for the bees to start filling them up again.
If you already have a standard hive, you can purchase 3, 4, 6 or 7 frames with no box. 3 frames run $230 and 7 frames will cost $400. But if you don’t have a beehive, have always wanted to start one or just want to have the whole box, they’re only $600 for base, brood box and 6 flow frames. With a setup like this, it’s no wonder they’ve attracted such attention–Not only does the Flow Hive crumble the beekeeping barrier, removing the cost and challenges, it reduces the number of bees killed in harvesting the honey, leaving more to do their job of pollinating and delivering sweetness straight from your back yard, or back porch.
