Business profile - Buukaar Waaruung Boutique Apiary & Artisan Honey
The pun is fully intended when Anna Carrucan says her Buukaar Waaruung Boutique Apiary & Artisan Honey is taking flight.
The Naroghid botanist and ecologist is a second generation beekeeper.
“My father kept bees for as long as I can remembers, as a hobby,” Dr Carrucan said.
“About five years ago he thought it was time for someone else to take over. I thought “Maybe me,’ so I got a hive. Then two hives, then four hives, then six hives.”
At peak population in spring, each hive can have 50,000 bees.
After about six years as an amateur, half way through 2018 she made a career change.
“I had a creative spark that I could create a concept around honey, the environment, ecology, and education, and make it all happen with bees as the central theme,” she said.
The business takes its name from the djargurd wurrung name for the “middle lip” carved between the crater lakes in the dreamtime when the people chased a giant bunyip across the land.
The fledgling business was dealt a temporary setback when the St Patrick’s Day fires ravaged the hives.
“I was left with one hive standing,” Dr Carrucan said.
“That hive is now known as the Phoenix hive because it literally rose from the ashes.”
Since then she has rebuilt by dividing her colonies and rescuing wild swarms.
“Bees have become more prominent in people’s awareness in recent years because of research into declining pollinator populations.
“When people do see a swarm they’re keen to have them removed and rehoused instead of destroyed.”
“I now have 15 hives. They all seem to be progressing quite well.”
The bees forage on native and garden flowers such as manna gums, swamp gums, lavender, sage and messmate stringybark around Lakes Gnotuk and Bullen Merri.
They can rove up to 5 km a day and each bee produces only one tenth of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime.
Scout bees that find nectar report back to their own hive and their comrades follow them back to the source, so adjoining hives can produce exclusive honey from completely different flowers.
“What they bring back to the honey flavour, texture, aroma and candy profiles are really different,” Dr Carrucan said.
(Pure honey naturally candies, or crystallises, over time but just need to be warmed to become runny again.)
“I extract each hive separately so I have single origin honey.
“The difference in flavour profiles is astounding.”
Dr Carrucan is diversifying her business into more than just selling the bees’ golden goodness.
“I’m hoping to have events and workshops: information, making bees wax wraps, making bee-friendly gardens, and tastings,” she said.
Her playfully titled products and services include:
- bee sweet: pure local honey - seasonally available
- bee keep: beekeeping mentoring and host a hive to enjoy all the benefits of bees: a blooming backyard and sweet honey.
- bee green: on-site or on-line consultations, and seeds kits for bee-friendly gardens
- bee spoke: workshops and events
Buukaar Waaruung Boutique Apiary & Artisan Honey products are available at Courthouse Camperdown, Well Nest Organic Café, and Rise and Grind in Camperdown; The Wooltrack Store in Lismore; Grassroots Deli Café in Port Campbell: and Jo’s Pantry in Colac.
For more information, go to www.buukaarwaaruung.com.au , call 0418 577 267, or email beekeeper@buukaarwaaruung.com.au