COMVITA
We protect bees, so they can protect nature. It’s only natural that we partner with Saving the Wild to help protect nature in need.
COMVITA
We protect bees, so they can protect nature. It’s only natural that we partner with Saving the Wild to help protect nature in need.
Comvita and Saving the Wild have joined forces to care for ‘nature in need’ by protecting habitat and supporting guardianship of the land by local communities. Our company was established in 1974 and came to life in a counter-culture movement built on respect for nature and humankind. Our mission is to connect people to nature.
Saving the Wild is a New Zealand registered charity founded in 2014 by Jamie Joseph. Their mission is to protect endangered African wildlife and ultimately the priceless biodiversity of the planet. Comvita and Saving the Wild have worked together in the past to help nature in crisis. Firstly in 2018 in Africa when Saving the Wild used Comvita’s Manuka Honey to treat rhinos and elephants wounded by poachers. Again in 2020 when Jamie Joseph took Comvita’s Manuka Honey Wound Gel to the frontline of the Australian bushfires, to help treat koalas and other native wildlife burned and injured while fleeing the fires.
When we saw the Saving the Wild team using our honey products to make a difference to the survival of animals, we knew we had to do more. We have embarked on this long-term partnership with Jamie Joseph and the Saving the Wild so that we can truly bring our shared values of caring for ‘nature in need’ to life in sustained and tangible ways. We hope to provide support in a number of ways from product donation, like we saw with the koalas, through to training and resource-sharing with communities, globally.
Bees will be at heart of the new Comvita & Saving the Wild partnership. Bees connect our entire eco-system, and they are so important to the biodiversity of our planet. We have a responsibility as guardians of the land and nature to find holistic solutions to empower communities to embrace and look after nature. Saving the Wild and Comvita believe the key to protecting biodiversity is protecting the planet’s bee population. Nearly 90% of the world’s flowering plant species depend entirely on the pollination of plants, and bees play an important role in sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, climate change and a healthy environment[1].
In collaboration with Saving the Wild’s Kenya partner Big Life Foundation, Comvita will support local communities living in the Kimana wildlife corridor by sharing their knowledge of beekeeping and crafting of honey.
Our aim for this program is twofold: to support environmental biodiversity and empower local communities through social enterprise development. Bringing the power of bees and beekeeping skills to this area creates a circular flow of benefits, promoting harmony between nature and people.
Our partnership with Saving the Wild will go beyond funding to connect nature and people in a harmonious way. Bringing the power of bees and beekeeping skills to this area creates a circular flow of benefits promoting harmony between nature and people.
As the human population increases, so do competing land uses, such as farming and cattle grazing. As humans compete for limited resources like water, land, and grass for livestock, we further encroach onto what were once wild lands. With less space to share, people and wild animals now come into direct contact at an alarming rate and sometimes with fatal results. Elephant-beehive fences are a sustainable way of mitigating conflict because elephants are actually afraid of bees. This sustainable and innovative method of deterring elephant crop raiding has already had great success in other parts of Kenya, while at the same time improving pollination.
We’re really proud to be partnering with Jamie Joseph and Saving the Wild to help care for nature in need
