Dancing Bee Farm
Pure, delicious honey starts with ethical, eco-friendly farm-management. Dancing Bee Farm was founded and established upon principles from eco agriculture, permaculture and biodynamics. Biodiversity conservation and respect for natural ecosystems and the farm organism are key. Off-farm inputs are minimal and waste is low. Dancing Bee Farm’s goal is to produce quality products that tread lightly upon the earth. Dancing Bee Farm believes in always being stewards first, taking care of this unique place and maintaining personal contact between the farmer and the buyer. Dancing Bee Farm produces a variety of honey products with a distinct terroir flavour as well as cut-and-wrapped lamb and lamb sausage. Guests will also find a variety of wool products, including sheep skins, blankets and yarn.
Meet Harriet Hall & David Hockin
Meet Harriet Hall & David Hockin
In a small rural area like the Hazeltons, “connections are simple but extraordinary,” says Harriet Hall. The people who live here, she notes, are genuinely invested in their community. They are proud to live, work and do business here and it shows in the kinds of interactions that they have with each other. “Everyone is friendly,” says Harriet. “People are helpful. Neighbours care and share. It is easy to find like-minded folk.” The strong connections and the simplicity of lifestyle add a richness to life here that is unique and distinctive.
Harriet and partner David Hockin purchased Noo’om Hanii Jok from Alice Kruta and Ed Day in in 2008 and began exploring community connections. In 2014 they completed the move from their Secwepemc territory farm and settled their bees and sheep into their new home in Gitxsan territory. It is the perfect place to operate an ecologically-minded and bio-diverse bee farm thanks to its proximity to nature and wilderness. Being entrepreneurs has afforded them the ability to shape their business and their farming practices according to a philosophy that is deeply important to them: respecting nature. It also means freedom to “adapt to conditions with spontaneity and creativity.” They’ve found that the community has been extremely receptive to their business and farm practices. In fact, Harriet notes, the people who live here and the businesses that operate here are committed to working together to “produce quality goods with small ecological footprints, which will in turn create future opportunities and success.”
Play is just as important a part of Harriet and David’s lives as their work. They like to take time to enjoy the nature that is such a key part of their farm and its success. Often that includes a walk along the Skeena River boardwalk. “Every season the colours, the way the river whispers and the animals that visit change,” Harriet says.
