Hawaii Entrepreneur Builds a Business To 'Beelieve' In
Originally posted at bizjournals.com
By Stephanie Salmons - Reporter, Pacific Business News
Jasmine Joy Sarria, 39, founder and owner of Beelieve Hawaii, said one of her earliest memories as a child is of her paternal grandfather wearing a bee suit and inspecting his hives.
"Although I haven't seen him in over 30 years, I believe caring for honeybees is in my DNA and a big part of my destiny and/or purpose on this planet."
Sarria, who grew up in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, moved to Honolulu in 2006. She was inspired to establish Beelieve Hawaii in 2012 after manufacturing for a North Shore skincare company and noticing a need for humane bee removal.
Among her endeavors with Beelieve Hawaii, Sarria, who has apiaries in Waiahole and Makaha, said she offers an "alternative solution to pest control" by capturing swarms and rescuing established honeybee colonies from residential, commercial, industrial and historical sites; designs elementary-level school garden curriculum and operates a beekeeping mentorship program called "Believe University" as a "pollinator protector;" and ethically harvests pesticide-free honey, beeswax and propolis from rescued hives and makes moisturizing balms and herbal tinctures.
Beelieve Hawaii was one of 16 locally-owned small businesses that participated in Pakolea, a pilot program offered by the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association in partnership with the Purple Maia Foundation, which includes an intensive month-long cohort-based virtual program.
"Pakolea's focus was to prepare us for distribution of our products in the visitor industry and build relationships with other mission-aligned entrepreneurs," Sarria said. "We met three times a week - on Zoom - to refine our sales pitches and learn from experienced advisors about topics like margins and regenerative tourism."
The program culminated with a hoike and pop-up shop held at the Royal Hawaiian Center in May. Sarria said she runs a single-member LLC and hires independent contractors, like arborists, for larger jobs.
Why bees?
I've been an insect enthusiast since I was a little girl and would collect bugs to study their behavior by creating mini encased habitats.
Endangered species have always had a special place in my heart because I want to help prevent them from going extinct. My ambition to nurture Mother Earth and her creatures has been with me since I was young.
When the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder became a hot topic of propaganda, I didn't want a threatened species like the honeybees to become endangered. I've always wanted a fulfilling profession that would aid humanity, as well. I knew I found my calling by working with honeybees because they are primary pollinators that feed the people.
How do you educate people about bees and why is it important to do so?
I have been developing aina-based STEAM [science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics] curriculum since 2015 on the subject of pollinators, especially honeybees.
As a partner of a nonprofit farm called Hoa Aina O Makaha, I developed the Pollinator Program for third-graders from Makaha Elementary.
After piloting the program for two years and witnessing the growth my students had, I decided to offer outreach throughout the island and bring my bees in an observation hive to other schools.
During the same time at another apiary, I started hosting tours for small groups. I think it's important to educate people about bees because most of them have no idea how hard these tiny creatures work to sustain our global food systems.
What is Beelieve University and how did that start?
Beelieve University is a mentorship program for novice natural beekeepers.
The demand to learn how to keep bees rose during the pandemic with the popularity of growing your own home garden. Instead of selling bees to amateur enthusiasts and driving all around the island to mentor, I chose to build a hexagon-shaped gazebo as my classroom and had students come to my bee sanctuary.
"Intro to Ethical Beekeeping" is the title of BU's first course.
Did the pandemic have any effect on your business or the work you do?
The pandemic inspired me to get even more creative with my educational offerings and think outside of the box - literally. [Both] 2020-2021 were very successful years for my bee removal service because everyone was at home during swarm season, which meant my phone was ringing constantly to save the bees. We also had the honor of extracting the aggressive hives at Iolani Palace - in each tower - in August of 2020.
How do you plan to grow your business in the next year?
I plan to offer BU's "Intro to Ethical Beekeeping" course online by hiring a film crew to help me produce the curriculum as video modules. I also intend on creating new skincare formulas and expanding my value-added product line.
Jasmine Joy Sarria, founder and owner of Beelieve Hawaii
Email: beelievehawaii@gmail.com
Facebook and Instagram: @beelievehawaii
