Do not be afraid to fail and try again – Andrea Austria

In 2018, Andrea A. Austria and her partner were looking for a business to open. At that time, her partner had been watching bee-keeping in YouTube for a while, “and he got interested with how wonderful and hardworking bees are,” she said.

Paired with their love to take care of animals, they established D’s Hive Bee Farm.

“I always saw myself teaching (as a) licensed teacher (with a master’s degree in special education),,” Andrea said. But yeah, business beckoned.

“Keeping bees in itself is so challenging. We have to consider many things in bee-keeping, like skills in dealing with the behavior of native bees, weather, consumers’ awareness on honeybees, collapse of colony due to wax moth, and application of inorganic chemicals/pesticides in the nearby farms that kill our bees,” she said.

To deal with these challenges, “aside from sending our beekeeper (Jordan Calingasan) to UPLB bee program training to acquire basic skills, we continuously learn from soliciting pieces of advice from experienced beekeepers and learning from personal experiences as well.”

But yes, Andrea said, this is a profitable venture.

Though aside from the monetary earnings, there is also “self-fulfillment since we are working with nature.”

And for people who may want to also open their business, what tips can Andrea give?

“Find your passion and do not be afraid to fail and try again,” she ended.

Check out D’s Hive Bee Farm on Facebook and Instagram. You may also call or text 09566688805.