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New Haven, CT, USA

An initiative by The Community Foundation for Greater Haven

The Hunee Bee Project

The Huneebee Project in New Haven empowers underserved youth through the art of beekeeping, blending vocational training with mindfulness to foster both personal growth and social entrepreneurship. This initiative, supported by community organizations and a federal grant, not only enhances local honey production but also reinvests profits to further expand its reach and impact.

Highlights

  1. Social Entrepreneurship: Teaching young adults from underserved backgrounds through beekeeping. 

  2. Mindfulness and Skills Training: Incorporating mindfulness into vocational training for therapeutic benefits.

  3. Community Support: Strong backing from local organizations and a federal grant.

  4. Economic Sustainability: Revenue from honey and related products supports program continuity.

  5. Expansion: Tripled cohort size and honey production increased by 500%

  6. Employment Opportunities: Past participants gaining employment to support program operations.

  7. Education and Engagement: High program completion rate with 96% of participants graduating.

  8. Resource Reinvestment: Profits reinvested into expanding the program and supporting other local beekeepers.

  9. Future Growth: Plans for a new honey house and training hub to enhance year-round production.

Story

After experiencing burnout from her job as a social worker, Sarah Taylor began making beeswax candles as a way to cope. As she got to know local beekeepers, she was so inspired by their passion that she started beekeeping herself.

“Whether its marketing, customer interfacing, tracking inventory, or product creation,” Taylor said, “our program allows for job skills building.”

Additionally, the organization sells gardening seeds and planters, beeswax candles, branded coffee mugs and apparel. Huneebee Project also runs a seasonal flower subscription service which provides eight weeks – June to September – of locally-harvested flowers from its gardens which are available for pick-up at the organization’s headquarters.

But it’s more than just hands-on job skills experience participants are receiving, Taylor says. Huneebee Project also provides workshops – including resume writing – that help youth to market their program-related skills. In some cases, they don’t need to look far; to date, twelve past participants have been hired part-time by the organization – including six currently working with Huneebee – to support its nine garden sites and forty hives.

What makes Taylor most happy is seeing the engagement of young people who may have struggled in the past to attend school.

“In order to graduate from our program, [participants] have to attend a minimum of 75% of our workshops and complete a finalized resume,” Taylor said. “On average, 96% of our participants achieve that.”

To continue to grow its capacity and funding to serve more youth, Huneebee offers a variety of sponsorship opportunities from a $55 level to install and maintain a bee hotel to a top-level $1,310 option that supports 10,000 bees and comes with corporate branding, social media posts and hive updates. Earlier this year, Huneebee secured a federal grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which Taylor plans to use to build a commissary honey house and beekeeping training hub in Connecticut.

“We want to continue to support other local beekeepers – particularly those with backgrounds and identities underrepresented in the beekeeping community – and get to a place where [Huneebee] makes enough honey to sell year-round,” Taylor said.

For the youth served by Huneebee Project – and the Greater New Haven community – that’s a sweet opportunity.

“I found it incredibly healing,” Taylor said. “Beekeeping requires you to be totally present and focused; all the worries and thoughts you have disappear in those moments.”

Thinking back to her time as a social worker, Taylor realized such mindfulness might be therapeutic for young people, especially those in foster care or protective services. Often, Taylor says, those systems are under-resourced and cannot adequately connect youth to opportunities. Combining her insights from beekeeping with her experience in social work, Taylor founded Huneebee Project in 2018. The New Haven-based social entrepreneurship organization works with adolescents and young adults, ages 15 to 23, from underserved communities.

The dual goal of the 15-week program – which runs on Saturdays -- is to provide transferable job skill-building opportunities within a therapeutic context. Participants are often referred by community organizations such as the Yale Child Study Center, Department of Children and Families (DCF), outpatient clinic providers, and school counselors. As part of the program, each participant is matched one-on-one with a mentor who provides individualized attention and support.

Last year, support from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven helped Huneebee Project hire a lead beekeeper who co-leads bee-related training alongside Taylor. That’s allowed Huneebee Project to triple the number of cohorts – typically comprised of five or six young people – it has served over the past year. Between new staff and more participating kids, Taylor estimates that the honey production – which her organization sells online and through pop-up markets – has increased an estimated five hundred percent, with sale proceeds from the enterprise funneling back to support the program.

That revenue model also allows Huneebee participants to gain valuable hands-on job experience.

Impact

Health & Well-being
The Huneebee Project places a strong emphasis on the mental and emotional well-being of the youth it serves. Through therapeutic job skills training in beekeeping, youth are given tools to manage emotional challenges and foster resilience. This project provides a calming and healing experience, helping participants cope with trauma while building confidence. By nurturing both mental and physical health, Huneebee strongly aligns with the Health & Well-being goal, creating a safe space for youth to thrive.
Inclusive and Resilient Communities
At its core, the Huneebee Project is committed to fostering equity by prioritizing youth from foster care and child protective systems—populations that often face significant barriers to opportunity. By offering meaningful employment and wrap-around support, the project bridges the gap for marginalized communities. This initiative embodies the principles of Community & Equity, ensuring that everyone has access to opportunities that foster growth and community participation, regardless of their background.
Sustainable Economics
Huneebee operates as a social enterprise, employing youth to run a marketplace selling honey and pollinator-related products. This model not only provides economic opportunities for participants but also supports environmental sustainability through its focus on beekeeping and pollinator health. The project exemplifies the spirit of Sustainable Economics, demonstrating how economic growth can go hand-in-hand with environmental stewardship and social good.
Environmental Stewardship
Huneebee’s focus on installing bee hives in urban areas and restoring pollinator habitats is a direct response to the urgent environmental challenges we face today. Bees are crucial to biodiversity and ecosystem health, and the project’s conservation efforts help combat the effects of climate change and habitat loss. By promoting pollinator-friendly spaces in under-resourced communities, Huneebee advances the goals of Environment & Climate, making a meaningful contribution to protecting our planet for future generations.