Derek Nantel had been wanting to try beekeeping for years when he and his partner Nicole Johnson bought their dream home in Sackville, and he had the opportunity to try. Just two years later, Nantel and Johnson have opened up Upper Aboujagane Honey Company, or UA Honey, to supply areas beekeepers with all the trappings of the trade.
UA Honey opened Tuesday at 95 Bridge Street in Sackville, and CHMA dropped by to speak with the town’s newest business owners:
“The beekeeping supplies stores around here are very limited,” says Johnson. “You have to go to either Sussex or Truro to get a good amount of supplies.” Some stores do carry supplies, but “just your basic everyday stuff,” says Johnson. “They don’t carry everything that you need.”
That’s where UA Honey comes in. In addition to selling the honey and beeswax products produced by their own hives, the store carries starter kits with five or ten frame hives, and the basic supplies needed to maintain them. They hope to grow from there, says Nantel. “That’s kind of our goal is to just start small and grow as the community needs, hopefully.”
The Sackville area beekeeping community has grown over the course of the pandemic, says Nantel.
“People have sort of leaned towards self-sustainability, and beekeeping is that,” he says. “I’m proof that you can learn a lot about something in a short time.” But he says it’s a practice that never stops teaching. “I know of people that are into it for generations and generations and they’re still learning something.”
“The bees kind of know more what they’re doing than we do,” says Nantel. “In a sense we try to provide for them and give them the best direction, and that’s where the equipment comes in. You know, just having the proper equipment and guidance from knowledgeable people to kind of help along the way.”
Nantel manages 303 hives, with over 200 of them currently at blueberry fields for pollination. UA Honey bees also work at Lavender Moon Farm, and the store carries those products, as well as Smoking John’s bbq sauces, which are made using UA honey.
Johnson says Nantel is the beekeeper, while she focusses on the other aspects of the business.
“It’s not definitely not for everybody,” says Nantel, but he says finds beekeeping gives him peace of mind. “When you’re in and working with bees, it’s just peaceful.”