Who Are we?
Our Mission
“Bee green with Green Bee.”
To help create a greener future by implementing old school methodologies with new school technologies. Inputs created on the farm, by the farm, for the farm and the greater good.
Our mission is to run a biodynamic farm that offers a variety of beneficial products to the community and helps teach people about the benefits of holistic sustainable living.
The problem
The challenges tackled by Green Bee Farms are deeply intertwined with our daily lives, affecting everything from the food we eat to the environment we live in. Imagine waking up to a world where the buzzing of bees is a rare sound, as declining insect populations threaten the pollination of fruits and vegetables that make up our meals. The food on our plates is not only less abundant but also less nutritious, a result of modern agricultural practices depleting essential nutrients from the soil. As we drive past vast fields, we might notice the monotony of monoculture farming, which reduces biodiversity and leaves crops more vulnerable to pests and diseases, ultimately impacting food security and prices at the grocery store.
In our communities, the improper use of fertilizers and pesticides contaminates local water sources, affecting the quality of the water we drink and the health of aquatic ecosystems. The air we breathe is also impacted by pollution from these agricultural practices. Meanwhile, genetic bottlenecks in livestock, like Holsteins, mean that our dairy and meat products come from animals that are increasingly susceptible to disease, potentially leading to shortages or higher costs. The control of seed markets by a few large companies limits the variety of crops that farmers can grow, reducing the diversity of foods available to us. These interconnected issues highlight the urgent need for sustainable solutions that Green Bee Farms is striving to implement, reminding us of our role in supporting practices that protect our environment and ensure a healthy future.
The Solution
Green Bee Farms tackles a variety of environmental and agricultural challenges through innovative and sustainable practices. To combat ecosystem loss and declining insect populations, We help teach polyculture farming and wildflower plantings, which enhance biodiversity and provide essential habitats for pollinators like bees. We also practice reduced pesticide use and integrated pest management to minimize harm to beneficial insects. To address genetic bottlenecks in livestock, Green Bee Farms focuses on breeding strategies that enhance genetic diversity and disease resistance. The farm also tackles declining nutrients in food by utilizing natural fertilizers and biostimulants derived from farm byproducts, promoting soil health and nutrient-rich crops.
Improper cattle rotations are addressed through holistic grazing practices that restore grasslands and improve pasture productivity. Additionally, Green Bee Farms supports seed diversity by sourcing from a wide range of organic and non-GMO seed suppliers, counteracting seed monopolies. These efforts are complemented by a commitment to sustainable agriculture practices that prioritize habitat conservation, biodiversity, and the health of ecosystems. Similar to economic systems, where increased inputs often lead to greater dependence, a farm that produces more outputs with fewer inputs fosters a truly vibrant ecosystem.
Our Team
Niko
Niko has always had a passion for farming. In Highschool he helped build one of the first carbon-neutral aquaponic facilities in the U.S. and studied Agricultural Business and Organic Horticulture at Colorado State University with an emphasis on cannabis. Because of federal guidelines, he left to work for Way To Grow, Boulder. Here he talked with grow managers and analyzed specific soil and fertilizer “recipes” that companies manufactured, realizing that some of the products listed as “organic” weren’t truly organic. Shortly after he went down to Colombia to work for his uncle’s cattle ranch where they ran 400 head of cattle and roughly 20,000 tilapia where basic things (tape measures, drills, and duct tape) were not available, this led to the question “how do we make fertilizers for the farm, on the farm?” Answering this by growing 4000 plants using soil tests, companion planting, and local ingredients, he has gained notoriety gaining second place in “The Headies” for his hemp flower.
Yuri started working on farms at 16 and worked his way up to managing a market garden behind a diner to supply it with extra vegetables, eggs and tomatoes. Later, he helped run a farm camp, teaching kids about the joy of gardening. it was here where he learned about rotating crops and cover crops and eventually went to school at University of Vermont, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science with an emphasis in soil science. During that time he also worked for the Lieutenant Governor of Vermont at his farm “Full Moon Farms”, Helping raise over 15 acres of organic produce that they sold through CSA’s and farmers’ markets. They used a system of rotating cover crops to build up soil nutrients in an orderly fashion, roughly rolling the cover crops into the ground both previous and following the planting of a cash crop. Now he currently works in Vermont on the identification and inventory of trees for landowners that are looking to accrue carbon credits based on trees present.
Angela
Angela is responsible for the Research Department and NGO specialist. She holds an M.A. in Political Science with an emphasis on Political Economy. During her studies she focused primarily on the goal of sustainability of global agricultural supply chains and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers so that they can make a decent living while protecting the environment and contributing to the strength and stability of their communities. In New Zealand, she gained experience in farm work by working on a large-scale Feijoa farm, and in Vermont, she helped grow hemp on a certified organic farm. She also pursued a permaculture certificate in Colombia in 2019, focusing on bioconstruction, companion crops, and the principles of syntropic agriculture. As a researcher she seeks to uplift rural voices with particular attention to issues of climate change-driven land degradation, rural development, and food sovereignty. Within the framework of our project, she studies indigenous approaches to sustainable food systems based on ancestral knowledge and researches ancient recipes for fertilizers, remedies, feeds, etc.
Miguel
Miguel is quite the homesteader! After going to Colorado State University for Medical school he realized it wasn’t the path for him and wanted to dive more into natural plant healing. He began to look at the cosmetic industry and realized how much synthetic ingredients are being used in makeup, toothpaste, soaps and more. This led him to develop Hunab Ku in December of 2018. As Covid came around, he built his own house 1 km into the Colombian Jungle where he had to bring everything in by mule. Here he had a completely off the grid house, taking into account how to build+maintain grease traps, composting toilets, solar panels, and more.
Extraordinary Experiences
We value the people, animals and plants around us. Attuned to nature, we teach people sustainable methodologies to make the world a greener place.
Our Core Values
- Care for the earth
- Collaboration
- Mimicry
- Resourcefullness
- Sustainability
