"Our goal when we moved here was to kickstart the ecosystem, and in just these three years, we've witnessed so many changes."
According to the National Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket), the number of beekeepers in Sweden is decreasing, reports SVT Halland.
In Västerbotten, however, the number of beekeepers has increased by 50 percent in five years. Kristoffer Östensson, chairman of the Västerbotten district of the Swedish Beekeepers' Association, says that female and younger beekeepers are on the rise.
– I was like a boy among old men when I started 20 years ago, even though I was 30, says Kristoffer, who now has eight hives.
He believes that the rise in popularity of beekeeping is linked to the trend towards self-sufficiency and the global climate.
– When the Ukraine war makes production chains and transportation logistics so visible, you realize we import a lot of items we shouldn't be importing, including honey, says Kristoffer.
Madelene Bergqvist is among those to have taken up beekeeping.
– I've been dreaming about bees for a long time, and then, in the true spirit of the 'Green Wave', I ended up on the self-sufficiency path. Beekeeping is a big key to that; all the sugar, the antibacterials, the ability to make your own salves.
Madelene took a course in 2018 and harvested 30 kilos of honey the following year.
– If I announce on an Innervik group that I have fresh honey, the interest is immediate, says Madelene.
Elsewhere in the country, P4 Jönköping has reported that beekeepers are unable to sell their honey and are therefore forced to reduce their harvests.
– One explanation may be that we humans have become a bit spoiled with imported liquid honey in squeezy tubes, argues Madelene.
– In northern Sweden we don't have this problem yet; here the challenges are more about the short season and the varroa mite starting to spread, says Kristoffer.
– But in general I feel that working with bees has become more efficient. The boxes are not as heavy, and you don't have to be "big and strong" to do it, he adds.
Kristoffer Östensson, chairman of the Västerbotten district in the Swedish Beekeepers' National Association, is very pleased with the increase in the number of beekeepers.
Both Kristoffer and Madelene hope that more people will become interested in beekeeping.
- I think it's useful to be able to create and take care of something that's missing in our society today, especially when many people have a screen in front of them most of the time. Volunteering and association life have become so unpopular among us young people, which is sad. I like to have the satisfaction of a project and interest that means I can socialize with others with the same interest, says Madelene.
The barring grid must prevent the queen from being able to pass.