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When Simthembile Nzuzo was four years old, a swarm of bees settled beneath the floor of his family home in Ncambedlana, outside Mthatha. Over the years, the bees would occasionally sting members of the Nzuzo family, but instead of fearing them, the young boy became fascinated.
Today, at 36, Nzuzo is one of the Eastern Cape’s leading black commercial honey producers and has earned the nickname “father of the bees” among fellow beekeepers.
Together with his family, he runs one of the province’s thriving honey-producing operations at Mayden Farm in Mthatha, managing more than 1,000 beehives and producing more than 15 tonnes of raw honey annually.
“I became curious when they built their home under the floor in our house and started stinging us. But I vowed that I would farm them when I was older,” said Nzuzo, a married father of five.
Born and raised in Ncambedlana, Nzuzo attended EW Pearce Junior School before completing his matric at Zingisa Comprehensive High School, where he gravitated towards agricultural subjects.
After school, he enrolled at the University of the Orange Free State to study business studies before later pursuing occupational health and safety studies through Unisa.
Despite his formal studies taking a different direction, his interest in beekeeping never faded. He spent hours researching the industry at university libraries and at Mthatha’s public libraries during school holidays.
“We could not get anyone to help us remove the bees for years. I remember we would often brew umqombothi [traditional beer] with the hope that they would leave, but they never left,” Nzuzo said.
His practical experience came through working with a local beekeeper trained by the Agricultural Research Council.
“I was also able to get practical skills from a local beekeeper who had been trained by the Agricultural Research Council. Over the years, we have managed to work with government on advancing what we do. I also joined the provincial and national beekeeping associations,” he said.
Mayden Farm, on the outskirts of Mthatha near Ncambedlana, has been owned by the Nzuzo family for more than a century. Although much of the surrounding land later became an informal settlement and was eventually developed with RDP housing, the original farmhouse remained intact.
In 2010, Nzuzo and his family established their first two beehives using the same bee colony that had once tormented the family during his childhood.
From those humble beginnings, the operation has grown into a large-scale honey production business. The farmhouse now houses a honey-processing plant where the family produces Simthesh Honey Bee and Mayden Farm Honey Bee products.
The business also manufactures beehives, which are sold to aspiring beekeepers entering the market.
The hives themselves are spread across several locations, including land near Kambi Forest and Mjika Forest, both owned by timber company Merensky, as well as a forest in Port St Johns.
Nzuzo said their honey is sold in one of the supermarket chain stores across Mthatha and supplied to various pizza outlets, while bulk orders are processed directly from Mayden Farm.
However, he said the industry faced growing challenges, particularly climate change and theft.
“Because they do not know how to handle bees or beehives, when thieves go in and steal the honey they end up damaging the whole thing because, in the back of their minds, they are also worried about being stung by bees,” he said.
“I would estimate that we have lost more than R120,000 worth of honey since we started our operations.”
He said changing weather patterns were also affecting flowering plants relied on by bees for survival, reducing honey production.
Another obstacle for emerging beekeepers was the high cost of entering the industry.
“Setting up beehives does not come cheap. You need around R50,000 just to set up 20 beehives,” he said.
Speaking at a World Bee Day commemoration event at the Mall of Mthatha on Thursday, Nzuzo, who also serves as provincial chairperson of the Mpuma Koloni Bee Association, warned that much of the honey sold in SA was imported or fake.
“In SA, we consume around 5,000 tonnes of honey every year, but only 2,000 tonnes are actually produced in this country. There is a lot of misrepresentation of honey that comes from elsewhere. We need to promote this industry here as most of this fake honey comes from outside our shores,” he told beekeepers from across the OR Tambo district.
Daily Dispatch