Little Beehive Farm

Om Sweet Om Bee Products

Contact Information Little Beehive Farm Om Sweet Om Bee Products Tony & Diane Lulek 35 Dalton Road Holliston, MA 01746 Tel: 508-893-7970 Cell: 617-281-8867 Email: tony@littlebeehivefarm.com Web site: www.littlebeehivefarm.com

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Our Story

hile driving through Dedham one summer I happen to spot several beehives along the side of the road. How was this possible? I always thought you needed a farm to have bees. My interest was certainly piqued. I went home and started doing some research. To my amazement I found many books on the subject and started ordering them from my local library. I spent the next several months reading and learning about honey bees and beekeeping. I then decided that I want to be a beekeeper. I found the Norfolk County Beekeepers Association, a club that had a bee school. They held their club meetings and bee school at the Norfolk County Agricultural School

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in Walpole. The school started in January and ended in April with the culminating of getting your first hive. At bee school I learned everything that I needed to know to start one of the most fascinating hobbies in the world. I took the class in the winter of 2005, graduated in April, and got my first hive. My son took bee school the following year and had his own hive. Over the years my wife has become my biggest helper. We now have over seven hives in our apiary.

Nature & Beekeeping One of the things that beekeeping has done is put us more in touch with our environment. It has made us more aware of what we are doing to our planet. Being a beekeeper today is much more challenging than it was 15 years ago. Today we have to deal with many new issues. In order to confront these issues, the beekeeping community

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came up with chemical ways to treat things like varroa mites and tracheal mites. It all seemed over whelming to us. It went against our basic philosophy. As a family of 6, we have always been proud of our recycling, reusing, and reducing efforts. We are well aware of our impact on the environment.

We decided that as beekeepers we didn’t want to use any chemicals to treat our hives. We use all natural methods. Though it is more difficult and challenging to keep hives naturally, it is worth the effort.

Buddhism & Beekeeping The idea of reincarnation is an integral part of the Buddhist philosophy. One’s karma (action) in this lifetime determines one’s re-birth. Buddhists believe that all sentient beings (ability to feel sensation) have the opportunity to be re-born as a human being (the optimal birth).

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All of our hives are blessed with a Buddhist mantra, removing all obstacles from being re-born as a human being. The seeds of the Dharma (Buddha’s teachings) have been planted on all the bees.

At the height of the season there can be as many as 75,000 bees living in the hive. Given the fact that there are multiple generations within one season (female worker bees only live 45 days and the queen lays up to 2,000 eggs a day), this is a great opportunity to bless many sentient beings, giving them the opportunity to potentially be reborn as human beings.

Homeopathic Elements Honey, beeswax, pollen, and propolis are all natural occurring products of the hive. They are purported to have therapeutic value.

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Honey can be use to treat many things, including cuts and scrapes, stomach ailments, and sore throats.

Beeswax is a natural product of the hive with healing and protective properties. Beeswax candles, unlike regular wax candles (which are made from petroleum and produce toxins when burned), are smokeless and actually clear and clean the air when they are burned.

Pollen, though not really a product of the hive, is collected by the bees from flowers as a food source (protein). Eating honey containing local pollen traces is said to help alleviate the symptoms of seasonal allergies.

All the products of the hive not only have healing properties, but they also have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. In addition, there is research and real-life situations where bee venom therapy has helped people deal with the symptoms of conditions like MS and arthritis.

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Products of the Hive What is honey?

Honey is one of the bee’s food sources. The bees create honey by collecting nectar from many different plants. Nectar is a sugar. Each plant’s nectar is made up of different sugars. This contributes to the different tastes of honey. The bees ingest the nectar into their honey stomachs, mixing it with enzymes. When they get back to the hive they transfer the honey to the comb where they evaporate moisture from the honey until it gets to the right water content (around 17%). When they cap the cells with wax the honey is ready.

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Where does beeswax come from?

The bees create wax from glands on their abdomens. They use the wax to create honeycomb to store honey and pollen and to raise their brood (eggs, larva, pupae). To produce wax, bees must consume about eight times as much honey by mass. It is estimated that bees fly 150,000 miles, roughly six times around the earth, to yield one pound of beeswax.

Why do bees collect pollen?

Bees visit many plants and trees collecting pollen and nectar. In the process the bees help pollenate many of our crops. Approximately 40% of the fruits and vegetable we eat come from plants pollenated by honey bees. The bees carry the pollen back to their hive in Their pollen baskets. In the hive, pollen is used as a protein source necessary

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during brood-rearing and for a balanced diet when combined with honey.

What is propolis?

Propolis (or bee glue) is created from resins and tree saps. Honey bees use propolis to help seal cracks and openings in their hive as well as a cleaning agent in cells where brood is raised.

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Om Sweet Om Bee products Honey Our honey is as natural and organic as the bees can possibly make it. Honeybees travel in a 2-3 mile radius of their hive collecting nectar for honey. Since we use only natural treatments in our hive, we can guarantee that there are no chemicals used in any part of our process.

Beyond that we have no control over the rest of our environment.

Our honey is not heated. The only thing we do is filter the honey through a 400 mcg filter to remove excess debris that comes as a result of the extraction process. This leaves us with a honey

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that is very clean and clear, but also retains all the natural nutrients and pollens.

Sometimes honey will crystallize. There is nothing wrong with it and the best thing to do is gently heat the honey either in a pan of water or in the microwave (Be careful: several 10-15 seconds intervals, stirring or shaking (cap on please) should be enough to dissolve the crystals).

Hand Creams & Lotions We produce several skin creams made from all natural ingredients. All of our creams contain honey, beeswax, and propolis. Our creams are great for hands, feet, elbows, face, and anywhere on the body that you need some extra care. Please make sure to test a spot before applying elsewhere.

For a complete list of ingredients, please visit out web site: www.littlebeehivefarm.com

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Lip Balms Our lip balms are made from all natural ingredients: Pure beeswax, sweet almond oil or apricot kernel oil, vitamin E, and pure essential oils.

Hand-Made Soaps Our soaps are made with the cold-process method. This involves combining lye and all natural ingredients: distilled water, sodium lactate, beeswax, honey, propolis, coconut oil, palm oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, and pure essential oils. As well we use all natural botanical ingredients like rosemary, spearmint, calendula, rose, rosehips, clays, and other fun ingredients.

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Candles Taper candles (10�), Skep candles, votive candles, and round pillar candles (3�) made from 100% pure beeswax.

Honey Candy We make a honey candy that is great for sore throats or just a sweet treat. Our candy is made from water, pure cane sugar, honey, and then finely dusted with powdered sugar to keep them fresh.

Whole-Grain Honey Mustard Made from only the finest ingredients: mustard, mustard seeds, honey, and vinegar. We offer two varieties: regular and with stout.

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Other Bee related items We are always working on developing other items based on honey bees and products of the hive. We are working on some bee related jewelery as well as ceramic pieces.

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Education

e also give talks on beekeeping. This is a great way to educate people about the importance of honey bees and their impact on our world. It is also an opportunity to educate people about our environment and how they can help make a positive impact on our planet. If you are interested in having me talk to your group, family or school, please contact me at 508-893-7970 or at tony@littlebeehivefarm.com. I do educational talks at schools and groups for kids at no charge. I do have a fee for public speaking at clubs, groups, and other events. Please contact me for pricing and details.

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Our Logo

ur logo centers on the Buddhist symbol “OM” from the Tamil language. This language dates back about 2,500 years. “OM” symbolizes a persons’s impure body, speech, and mind; as the same time it symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha. It represents everything and nothing simultaneously.

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Pricing & Ordering

he pricing of our products is as important as the quality. We try to maintain affordability while keeping the quality at a very high standard.

Pricing Honey Honey Hand Creams Hand Creams Body Lotion Hand-made Soaps Lip Balms Candles (Tapers)

8 oz. $5.00 1 lbs. $10.00 1 oz. $5.00 2 oz. $10.00 2 oz. $5.00 4.5 oz. $5.00 1.5 oz. $3.00 10� $10.00

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Candle (Pillars) Skep Candle Votive candles Honey Candy Honey Candy Honey Mustard

2 oz.

3 oz.

4 oz.

$15.00 $5.00 $1.50 $2.00 $3.00 $4.00

Ordering There are several different ways that you can buy Om Sweet Om Bee Products: 1. Visit out web site: www.littlebeehivefarm.com to see descriptions and photos of our products, and send us your order via email to: tony@littlebeehivefarm.com 2. Visit our online store: www.littlebeehivefarm.com and place your order directly online.

3. By phone: 508-893-7970

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4. Stop by our home: 35 Dalton Road, Holliston.

(But please call first to see if we are home.)

5. By visiting us at any number of craft fairs.

Please visit our web site for an updated list of local fairs and farmers markets we will be attending.

Farmers Markets Natick Farmers Market: Saturday, 9 am. to 1 pm, year round (Indoor during the winter months).

Hopkinton Farmers Market at Weston Nurseries: Friday, 12 pm to 6 pm. June to October

If you would like to place an order and have it ready for pick up at the farmers, please just call us to place your order.

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Little Tiger The honey bee, a little tiger, is not addicted to the taste of sugar; his nature is to extract the juice from the sweet lotus flower!

by Kelsang Gyatso (1708 - 1757)

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