The chef who built a ‘hotel for bees’ in her restaurant

We already mentioned, in another post published here on awesome.clubthe importance of bees for the environment, for food production and the risk of these animals being extinct, especially due to the effects of global warming and the intensive use of certain agricultural pesticides.

But, in this post, we will talk about a simple and very welcome initiative to save these insects. The idea came from chef Manu Buffara, from Paraná, who decided to create a hotel for bees on the façade of her restaurant, Manu, with the help of specialists in the field.

Come with the team awesome.club learn more about this story, which shows that small ideas can make a huge difference to a better world.

Manu has a restaurant in downtown Curitiba, and during renovations, he decided he wanted to bring nature closer to the urban area and, with that, help pollinate the city’s flowers. His aim was to give the façade a new face, but also to make people aware of the need to contribute to the conservation of species.

The integration of the bees, which began timidly in October 2018, today has five hives and a flower-shaped mandala that is also a shelter for these insects. One of the ideas was to show that native Brazilian bees (stingless) can be integrated into any space.

The species of bees that Manu chose to have on its facade are Jataí, Manduri, Mirim-Guaçu, Mandaçaia and Guaraipo — all, as we said, native and stingless. This makes the insects live with the restaurant goers without risk of accident.

Manu also says that he intends to increase the number of hives by the end of the year and grows more flowers to help attract the bees and make them stay close. The idea, called Manu’s farm, was developed by her and producer Benedito Uczai, who is the founder of the Honey Gardens project.

This project is already spread throughout the city of Curitiba, in an attempt to maintain biodiversity and help these insects that pollinate around 90% of flowers and fruits. An idea that can grow with the offer of hives and courses to deal with stingless bees.

The integration of bees is just one of the aspects of Manu’s restaurant, which seeks to incorporate, in its work (and in its dishes), concepts linked to diversity and Brazilian cultural characteristics. The restaurant has already been recognized by the One to Watch Award, as one of the 50 best in Latin America.

Like the idea? Do you want to have a bee farm too? Tell us.