Detroit has thousands of vacant lots. Here's why some are becoming honeybee farms.

[Demovictory9]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/09/18/detroit-has-thousands-vacant-lots-heres-why-some-are-becoming-honeybee-farms/



After nearly two months, Timothy Paule Jackson’s cold and cough still would not go away.

It was December 2016, and Jackson had tried every type of medication and home remedy he could think of — garlic, turmeric, lemon, ginger and more. Nothing worked. Then he went to a local convenience store to buy snacks, and the owner suggested he eat local, raw honey.

Eager to try anything that might help, Jackson gave it a shot. His cough dissipated within a few weeks. He started researching raw honey and learned that some people used it to soothe throats, replace sugar as a slightly healthier alternative and heal inflamed skin.

Jackson’s city of Detroit, meanwhile, was seeking residents and nonprofit organizations to buy 90,000 vacant lots for a low price in areas where the city could not afford to lure developers. Although Detroit has seen a wave of new investors since 2013 when it filed for bankruptcy, 38 percent of its residents still live below the poverty line. Jackson and his girlfriend, Nicole Lindsey, thought about turning one of the vacant lots into something trendy, like a peacock farm or an urban campsite.


Then, an idea struck them: They would buy vacant land and turn it into a bee farm to produce raw honey. The raw variety is different from processed honey because raw honey usually has not been heated or filtered, and is thought to be more nutritious.


The pair’s project became Detroit Hives, a nonprofit group that transforms empty lots into homes for both honeybees and native bee species — simultaneously working toward revitalizing the economically depressed city, increasing raw honey production and educating community members about the importance of bees in the environment. Bees pollinate crops and natural plants to help them grow and ensure they produce seeds.

Jackson, 35, and Lindsey, 36, are now seeking to rebuild their hometown one beehive at a time, and to encourage others to join the cause.

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. Nice Story!

Cheers to them!

[SMC22307]

2. I love this! Right up there with the Appalachian honeybee farms for former coal miners.

Seriously, love this.