Surya + Bee My Passion

"I grew up in Hungary on a 1 acre property in the countryside - my parents had swapped a 3 bedroom apartment in Budapest to be able to move away from the city.

They turned the land into a sustainable farm, we grew everything we ate, and my parents sold the rest for an income. That's where I got my sustainable living mentality from. 

My parents created a land where every inch something was growing. We grew many fruit and vegetable varieties and preserved them for winter. My dad used to grow mushrooms in the cellar and I grow them too now.  We had ducks, chickens, pigs and my mum cooked, baked and made all our herbal remedies. She made all kinds of pasta and we never bought anything from the shops unless it was a thick crunchy loaf of bread.

My grandparents on my mothers side were also small scale beekeepers, and I grew up listening to the stories of bees and how hives and the bee communities worked."

"I'm a hairdresser by trade, and in 2019 I opened a sustainable hair salon in my converted garage.

I used all-natural and environment friendly products, and even composted all the hair waste from the salon. 

I was growing food, keeping chickens and bees in the backyard, and my clients loved the fresh produce in the tote bag while getting  their hair done.

Then COVID happened.

We were forced to close doors a few times, while the whole world was turning upside down. My clients got used to coming less often and growing the colour out of their hair."

"But something else happened too!

More and more of my clients and people I know got interested in bees, chicken keeping, pasta making ect, so I started teaching what I knew.

Meanwhile, I started to grow my apiary and selective breeding program. 

I closed my salon and took a job in North Nowra at the only Beekeeping supply shop in the area.

It was a huge responsibility to manage the company, develop the online store and maintain the shop front and all stock.

Ultimately this position gave me the opportunity to meet the vast majority of local beekeepers in the area."

"It was my jump start position, and I started developing workshops and gained a huge interest.

Through positive feedback from all the lovely people who attended my workshops, and support in the beekeeping community, I gained enough confidence in my own knowledge and skills.

I resigned from my position and a month later I was holding my first ever solo workshop on a large scale - 29 people bought tickets and I was overwhelmed with people's love and support."

"I have grown so much since. I now have 20 breeding colonies all selected year after year and our breeding program which is getting better every year – I haven't lost any colonies due to the varroa mite!

I developed a workshop range, and last year I toured around with my Holistic Varroa Management Workshop and taught 150 beekeepers how to avoid chemical usage. 

I also started doing markets with my honey. It's the best opportunity to meet the community and educate people about honey, the bees and sustainable farming.

I started with a gazebo and a table, now I have the gypsy wagon that my partner and I built over 13 months. Our hard work and dedication went into it and it is a lovely addition to my delicious honey and the local markets."