Family comes first: Former aircraft mechanic starts bee farm for younger sister

Nicolai Kniazeff

There is a saying that family comes first.

This is the belief of Nicolai Kniazeff, 31, from Amadeo, Cavite who was laid off as an aircraft mechanic before he established Jenna’s Honey Bee Farm in 2020 to support the needs of his younger sister, who, for medical reasons,  cannot drink water without honey.

The bee farm is currently composed of nine European beehives and 30 stingless beehives, which produce the 100 percent pure honey that Kniazeff sells in the market. He only had one colony of European bees and four hives of stingless bees when he entered the beekeeping industry.

Aside from pure honey, he also sells the bees and colonies and offers seminars to those who want to start their own bee farm. “I want to share my knowledge about beekeeping to other people who also want to start their own bee farm.”

A sister’s needs

Nicolai named the bee farm business after his younger sister, Jenna. He established his business to provide for the needs of his sister, particularly pure honey. This  later became his source of income and supported his family.

“There was one time when my sister’s honey stock became empty, and we did not have any stocks at home. Her problem is that she cannot drink water alone; there should be honey mixed with water or milk so she can drink it,” he said.

Nicolai checks the hives once a week to make sure that there is no infestation and to monitor the productivity of the bees. (Nicolai Kniazeff)

“We were having a hard time finding legit and high quality honey, so that was the time I started researching how to take care of bees so instead of purchasing it, we can just produce it in our backyard,” he added. To expand his knowledge and gain experience, he decided to attend a beekeeping seminar in Batangas. He also enrolled in the University of the Philippines Los Banos Bee program.

After attending the seminar, he had to buy his own bees to apply all the knowledge he acquired and test the bees’ compatibility with his backyard. Nicolai said that it can cost newbies around ₱10,000 for the colonies alone, ₱5,500 for the complete beehive set, and ₱2,500 for the equipment. “It may cost much money at first but beekeeping is a good business and investment.”

Making sure it’s high quality

“A challenge in maintaining my hives is how to keep them healthy and make sure there are no predators around, like frogs, lizards, wasps and pirik birds (also known as the blue-throated bee-eater or Merops viridis). By doing a weekly inspection, I can assure that the bees are healthy and there is no presence of predators.”

To prevent the bees from going too far from his bee farm to gather nectar, Nicolai planted more flowers, like marigolds and cosmos in the area. “That is why it is very important to choose a good location with good forage, so the bees will not go far and produce high quality honey just around the bee farm.”

“As of now, I only sell our honey online through Facebook since I do not have a physical store. But marketing bee products, particularly pure honey, is not a problem because people are aware of their benefits,” Nicolai said.

FROM HIVES TO BOTTLES, the pure honey has been  certified by the Department of Science and Technology. (Nicolai Kniazeff)

He added that he relies on word of mouth to boost sales.

“Once people find out about the pure honey that we offer, they recommend it to their friends and family, and from their friends and family to other people.”

“We love the support and the very positive feedback,” he said. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) laboratory tested and certified the pure honey products made by Jenna’s Honey Bee Farm. This certification reassures his customers that he sells high quality products with lots of benefits.

“Honey does not spoil”

“For observation purposes, I stored some honey in 2021 and 2022, and surprisingly, when I checked it in 2023, there were no changes in texture and the consistency is the same.” He also said that there are no signs of mold buildup.

When he tried it, he said that the smell and taste were still the same.

That is why Nicolai said that beekeeping is a good business because, aside from its high value, honey does not spoil when stored properly; if not purchased in a short span of time, it can still be consumed years later.

He also advises the attendees of his seminars to keep on attending training sessions about beekeeping and, most importantly, to learn about it by doing. “Because when all the necessary resources are already available and your knowledge and skills about beekeeping are already established, it will be rewarding.”

“I can say that I am making progress each day. It is totally different from the day I started the farm compared to where I am right now,” Nicolai recalled.

Right now, he does not have to worry whether there is enough stock of honey for his younger sister’s consumption; when Jenna is in need of honey, he can just open a bottle he sells or go to his backyard. Nicolai said that he will continue what he is doing for his sister and his family and make progress and expand because of his passion for beekeeping. — Benjamin Sarondo

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