Waterproof papier mâché hive

Seungjae Oh, Managing Director, Yasaeng Beekeeping Supplies, 482-7, Hasandong, Gwangsangu, Gwangju, South Korea

Keywords: beekeeping in Asia beeswax paper pulp South Korea symbiotic relationship

Industrial development and other human activities have destroyed nature’s balance to the detriment of natural habitats. This serious phenomenon has affected the honey bees’ ecology and I fear that the full effect has not yet been felt.

I am a designer in the field of beekeeping and recognise that sustainable designs are needed for bees’ habitat. This bee hive is made with recycled newspapers and beeswax. The beeswax acts as a bee-friendly hardening agent, is waterproof and a substitute for (possibly toxic) glue.

Honey bees enjoy peace and they do not sting when left alone (see overleaf). Nowadays commercial hives are designed to be placed on the ground where we walk around them. As a result interference occurs frequently. If bees’ living places are raised off the ground, the likelihood of people being stung is reduced, and the bees have their own territory. For that reason, I adopted a hanging system and the hives can be hung for safety in high tree branches - away from the reach of children or pets, yet still enabling adequate pollination in gardens.

Symbiotic relationships between bees and plants in gardens will generate a significant synergy effect. I hope that more people will start beekeeping to help maintain and protect bees. I will continue to develop my hive and I hope that beekeepers are inspired when they see it.

Inside the papier mâché hive

Beeswax is used to make the hive waterproof

PHOTOS © SEUNGJAE OH

Bees build their own comb in the papier mâché hive

The hive is hung high in trees to ensure that the bees have peace

The bees’ entrance – these are Apis mellifera honey bees of European origin in South Korea