The Hawaiian tradition of hānai is a beautiful cultural practice of adopting someone into your family as one of your own.

Adopting others into our hearts and into our ‘ohana (family) is an expression of the true Aloha spirit. We may not think of honeybees as family members like the way we think of our Aunties and Uncles, yet we rely on and are supported by them every single day of our lives. 

Honeybees sustain us by providing pollination for 1/3 of the food we eat. From our morning cup of coffee to that delicious haupia pie in the evening, honeybees make it all possible. 

And yet, as most everyone knows, honeybees like many of our pollinators, have struggled; their populations have diminished rapidly over the years. Disease, pesticides, and lack of diverse nectar sources have contributed to their decline. We all have the ability to save bees by the choices we make, planting a pollinator garden, eating organic, and refraining from using pesticides all make a huge difference! 

And, now, with the launch of HĀNAI HIVES, you can take it one step further. To hānai a hive is to deepen your love for nature by connecting with it. By welcoming honeybees into the fold of your life, you are communing with one of the most wondrous of all creatures, the honeybee. As a result, you strengthen the interconnected web of life, of which we are all a part.

Just as the word hānai is “subjective,” perhaps even elusive – so it is with love. When you hānai a colony of honeybees, it’s less about whether you host, adopt, or share a hive, it’s more about intention.’