Artemis Smiles is a honeybee sanctuary in Ka'u, Hawaii, selling raw unheated varietal honey, comb, bee bread and propolis from its own treatment free hives.
Artemis Smiles is a honeybee sanctuary in Ka'u, on the south end of Hawaii Island, founded by Alison Yahna in 2001.
Around two dozen colonies live in natural top bar hives, free to swarm and to build their own wax comb. The bees are kept treatment free, and older queens are not replaced, which the sanctuary describes as building a seed bank of genetically diverse survivor stock. Many of the colonies arrived through rescue work, taken alive out of houses and meter boxes where they would otherwise have been poisoned.
The honey comes only from these hives. Combs are taken by hand with every bee gently removed first, then squeezed and lightly strained, never heated or filtered. Varietals shift with the season and carry the flavour of Hawaiian mountain and coastal forest, including wildflower, kiawe from Ka Lae and Christmas berry. Whole comb, bee bread, propolis and beeswax candles are sold alongside the jars, in small quantities, ordered through the website. Alison also runs sanctuary tours by appointment, beekeeping workshops and apprenticeships.
Kaalualu Road, Naalehu, HI 96772
Sanctuary tours weekly, by appointment only. Honey ordered through the website.
We do not hold prices, availability, parking, access details or event dates for Artemis Smiles Honeybee Sanctuary. The farm answers those directly on its own site, by phone or by email.
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Rebuilding the food system, from the farm up
