Well, life moves along, the tree grows and branches out, and full beehives split and find new homes. So it is here at TopBarBeesNW…our hives are overflowing, and it’s time, after several years of providing top bar beekeeping classes and support for Portland bee stewards, to hang up the hive tool. We’ve had wonderful times teaching and spreading the love of bees, and watching that love multiply and move on (just like the bees!). Our huge thanks go out to all of you for your support, your enthusiasm, and your dedication to our magical fuzzy companions.

For those of you looking for further classes and beekeeping resources, we can recommend without reservations Matt Reed at Beethinking.com. He’s got a full-service operation to support the top bar and Warre beekeeping community here in Portland, and follows the same holistic, non-interventional practices we adhered to at TopBarBeesNW. Also, Backyardhive.com, one of the original holistic beekeeping sites, started by my childhood friend Corwin Bell, is a fantastic resource for natural beekeeping.

Now, our intrepid hive maker, Benjamin Clark, will be taking over TopBarBeesNW as a forum for his unparalleled top bar hives. He still makes them with reclaimed northwest fir, in thicker dimensions than any hive we’re aware of, and his craftsmanship is superb. We’ve never seen better top bar hives. Look for the changeover in the next few weeks…

Again, thanks for your support, and good luck to all of you in your bee stewarding adventures. Believe in the bees!

Humans have been interacting with honeybees for thousands of years. Most of that time the interaction has been mutually beneficial–people give bees good homes, leave them alone to do their pollinating and nectar-gathering, and then harvest honey and wax for their own use. It was not in anyone’s best interest to compromise the health of the bees.

Unfortunately, in recent times human’s obsession with massive yields in all areas of the agricultural circle has compromised that symbiotic relationship. Bees, like other livestock, have been massively overmanipulated–genetically, chemically, pharmaceutically. We even dictated to this fantastically talented architect the dimensions of the building blocks of his own home!

All of this intervention has taken its toll on the bees. We are here to offer help, and to return to the holistic husbandry once practiced with great success all over the world. Our Top Bar hives offer bees a natural, well-built home (with a few technological upgrades that benefit both humans and bees) that allows them great latitude to regulate and regain their genetic strength. We believe in interacting with the bees on a minimal, respectful basis, always with the goal of mutual health and survival.

Welcome to Top Bar Bees Northwest, and enjoy.