Local beekeeper scoops several awards

Kola le Roux had a wonderful year for his honey business, Kola’s Honey, in 2024.

He scooped several industry awards for his business, an impressive feat for a man who switched to a career in bee keeping late in his life.

Before becoming a bee farmer, Le Roux, 73, was a two-time world wave skiing champion and five-time SA champion and a board shaper.

“My love for bees started when I was about four years old, and both my grandfather and father had bees on their farm”, he said.

Le Roux said he has plenty of beehives on farms around the Eastern Cape including Nxuba, Mthatha, Somerset East, Komga and in the Buffalo City Metro, where he is based. He runs his business from Quigney.

The beekeeper first entered the Honey, Mead and Bee Products competition last year in August at Palm Springs and won several awards including first prize in ‘drogie’, first prize in citrus select and second prize in liquid medium.

“It was my first time entering a competition. I was invited by the chair of the Mpuma Koloni Bee Association.

“I used to give them my honey to enter the competition, and they used to win all the prizes with my honey, but this year I had to enter,” Le Roux said.

The self-taught bee farmer has 40 years’ experience in the honey farming practice and one of his proudest moments is being an “opportunity provider” in the form of jobs he creates on his farm.

“We are pushing beekeeping (with the Mpuma Koloni Bee Association) especially in the rural areas for employment and also to boost the production of it. We also have trained a lot of people, and these people also go and sell the honey in their communities. [This] business really helps them in poverty elimination,” he added.

Late December last year, Le Roux entered another competition called the Honey Judges and Stewards Guild of SA that was held in Johannesburg.

The honey farmer got top marks and won certificates and medals for his honey. He got first place for his liquid medium and citrus select, second place in liquid dark, third place in eucalyptus select and 100% for his drogie.

“We are looking forward to a very good season this year. Honey depends on flowers, flowers depend on the rain, no rain means no flowers and no honey but this year (2025) we really had great weather.”

Le Roux said some of the biggest challenges he has faced in bee farming was vandalism, bee theft and unfavourable dry weather conditions.

“People break the boxes, steal the honey and they sell it for themselves, while animals such as monkeys also come in and break the bee boxes”, he said.

When Le Roux got the news that he had won, he said he felt happy and proud of himself and his honey business

“I think people love my honey because it’s different, pure and we have the drogie, which I think is the best honey in the world, and once people taste it, they keep coming back.”

Daily Dispatch