why Apia and Why studio?
What is an apia?
Apia is our short form for apiary: a place where bees are kept. It shares its root with apicultura (beekeeping) and with Apis, the genus of the honey bee, from the Latin apis, “bee”. We wanted a name that sounds like a place before it sounds like a product.
Why studio?
Honey is where we start, not where we stop. A studio is a place where a craft is practiced and shared in more than one form. Ours starts with bees, but it will not always look the same: honey by varietals, wax and propolis, care and beauty made from the hive, tastings, courses, field research, and the stories that come out of all of it.
We will only open a new door when we can do it to the same standard as the first. Until then, the studio is small on purpose.
Who we are
.We steward pollinators, study colonies, and elevate craft
apia studio is an apiary and beekeeping studio in the coffee highlands of Caldas, Colombia. We keep Apis mellifera, the honey bee, and we build everything else around them: the honey we harvest when there is a surplus, what we learn by watching each colony, and the experiences we share with people who want to know where a jar of honey really comes from.
We are a small team. We learn from scientists, from experienced beekeepers and from academic experts, our experience and develop best practices for beekeeping in our region.
What we do
The forest sets the pace.
Everything we do begins with what the forest and its colonies can give, and stops there. We steward, we study, and only then do we create.
01 · We steward pollinators
We care for a native forest that, by our estimates captures around 40 tones of CO2 per year. We plant and create the conditions for bees and other pollinators to find shelter and food, on their own terms
02 · We study colonies
We learn from experts and from local practice. Through both lenses, we study each colony and record what works in our forest, building our own good practice manuals and code of ethics
03 · We elevate craft
Bees first.
From the small harvests they share with us, at their own pace, we create products, experiences and knowledge, always caring, conserving and regenerating