Ditching Coal for Golden Honey

As coal country faces economic decline, some organizations are turning to an unlikely business model to help revitalize Appalachia: bee-keeping!

Transcript

00:00It's therapeutic, there's that fantastic calmness that once you conquer the fear of opening

00:13the lid, the aroma that comes out, the buzzing sounds.

00:18We're trying to teach individuals locally how to keep bees sustainably and then use

00:24that as a supplement to their income.

00:40I've worked for over three decades in the area, so these communities that we're teaching

00:45in, I have watched slowly die.

00:48Thankfully, groups like ours are coming in and they're offering them some dignity, some

00:53hope, a chance to support their families, so I think it's much more than just the money.

01:03A couple of generations ago, everyone was sustainable and also had their outside jobs,

01:13and we've gotten away from that.

01:14As business has progressed, folks moved away from it, and in a sense, this puts them back

01:19there.

01:26There is no group doing anything like this in the United States, so we're kind of charting

01:30a new territory.

01:32We're not trying to turn a profit, we're trying to do it sustainably.

01:35We're trying to do it the best for the bees, the best for the communities, the best for

01:39the environment.