Love honey? Find out how to adopt your own beehive in the UAE

All of the sweetness, none of the sting…

Spread over hot toast, dolloped into a stir-fry, or drizzled into tea – when it comes to ingredients, honey is Mother Nature’s original multitasker.

Over the past few years, the world has seen a huge spike in the number of urban beehives, as people pay more attention to the provenance of their food and the plight of the honeybee.

While it may not be practical to have your own hive here in Dubai, honey lovers can get the liquid gold on tap, thanks to a clever concept from MyHive. Based in The Sustainable City, MyHive lets you adopt your very own beehive. You get all the benefits of owning hives, without any ongoing maintenance.

The hives are located in the Hatta Mountains, where the unpolluted air makes for clean, pristine honey. When you adopt a hive, you’ll be invited to visit it three times a year to learn about the honey-harvesting process.

Show me the honey

Your personal honey stash will be delivered to The Sustainable City for collection three times a year, to coincide with the local honey seasons in the UAE. You can expect to receive eight to 10kg of pure honey each year.

Each batch of honey will have a distinct flavour and aroma profile, thanks to the particular blossoms the bees feed on. In May and June, you’ll receive your share of the nutrient-rich Samar honey. June and July is the rich red honey from the Ghaf tree; and October and November will be the top-shelf Sidr honey, said to be the tastiest – and most expensive – of all the honeys.

Not only will you get to enjoy pure, unadulterated honey straight from the source – you’ll also get the pleasure of helping protect the local bee population.

To adopt a beehive with MyHive, you’ll need pay a registration fee of Dh750 and an ongoing annual fee of Dh2,250. This includes the thrice-yearly honey delivery, plus three arranged trips to the Hatta hives. You can also monitor your beehive remotely to track its progress.

For more information about adopting a beehive in the UAE with MyHive, visit myhive.ae.

Images: Instagram/Unsplash