PUTTING NATURE BACK INTO BEEKEEPING
The beekeeping journey of the Van Zyls, who farm fruit, wine grapes and honey at Redbeard farm near Ashton in the Western Cape, started out as a holiday activity more than 30 years ago.
Albertus van Zyl, who was only nine years old at the time, suspects that his father, Louré, might have been rather bored while they were on a family holiday at Mossel Bay. So the two ended up helping the late Hannes Londt, a missionary who kept bees on his son’s farm near Gouritz, harvest honey.
The excursion turned into an annual ritual, and some years later Londt gave them 10 hives to start their own beekeeping operation
