There’s something pretty incredible happening in the Kings Cross regeneration area: a charity, inner city kids and a branding company have launched the Honey Club, a social enterprise that saves bees, makes honey and builds community. Branding consultancy Wolff Olins have partnered with charity Global Generation (one of the causes we supported in our first Good for Nothing event) to make a positive contribution to the local area. Jane Riddiford from Global Generation has a vision of an integrated Kings Cross where fruitful collaborations occur on what she calls ‘common ground’.
It isn’t just common ground, but also common purpose. Far from being a tokenistic CSR initiative, all involved in the Honey Club are truly invested and come together weekly to do and to learn about beekeeping on Wolff Olins’ roof garden. There are currently 2 beehives, over 100,000 bees buzzing around and a first batch of fresh London honey. Wolff Olins’ are not only providing the space but also doing all the (lovely) branding and getting business partners on board. The young people (‘generators’) from Global Generation are acquiring hands-on beekeeping skills, but most importantly they’re gaining a huge amount of exposure to people and businesses they normally would never encounter.
One of the generators Jihaan (15) says:
“In the beginning I was really shy to work with adults because they seemed very smart and confident compared to me, and now we are on the same level basically I am not treating them as a big person I am treating them more like friends”
Jane at Global Generation says:
“Far from being a one-off gesture from a business to a charity, The Honey Club process has been more like growing a forest, putting down roots and sowing seeds, so that long lasting and meaningful change can happen in the Kings Cross area”
So far there are two local business members, the Guardian and OMD. In return for a membership fee, companies will be able to send employees to exclusive bee-themed events like cooking with honey at Wolff Olins’ offices as well as receive a few jars of honey from the rooftop hives.
The Guardian’s sustainability manager, Hannah Judge-Brown, says:
“What excites us about joining The Honey Club is the opportunity for us to be involved in working with bees and our immediate community in a hands-on, productive way. Bees have a lot to teach us and the life of the healthy hive is rich in metaphor for the life of a healthy, sustainable office or any community of people working together, as we are doing in King’s Cross.”
The two hives on the roof garden could produce up to 80lbs in the summer and the honey will be sold locally with all the proceeds reinvested in the social enterprise. I bet that honey will taste good.
For more information and to become a Honey Club member, see: http://honeyclub.org/