Eduardo Fernández, a young man from Granada, left his dedication to art to start work in an apiary in Javea. But this story begins with love: love for his partner, thatt brings him to this town – and love for bees.
Eduardo took advantage of a family-owned plot of 11.000 square metres of land that formerly belonged to the order of Saint Jerome, which was in disuse because it belonged to the Natural Park Montgó; Here he makes his dream come true – installing an apiary, “since beekeeping has always been a topic that I was passionate about.”
To do this, Eduardo trained as a beekeper in the middle of the pandemic, a course that is difficult to access, but due to the health crisis he found a place. Months later, and after finishing the course, under the umbrella of Bio Jardín Sostenible, Eduardo and his partner, Jan van Eijle, installed Miel Montgó, the apiary that aims to raise awareness of the importance of bees and their great contribution to nature, “which are not only useful for making honey.”
The birth of the project
The apiary project was born in order to offer another vision of these insects and nature. In just four years, Miel Montgó has grown considerably by carrying out different activities in order to promote beekeeping. Eduardo’s effort, dedication and passion is an essential part of the evolution of this initiative, which is now part of a tourist and educational offer.
The promoter of apitourism in Javea points out that the Montgo It is the mountain with the most biodiversity in Europe and with a great variety of native plants that make honey production special, “in addition to the fact that many dangerous chemicals for bees are not allowed in this area and it is bordered by the Sea Mediterranean, makes it a very special honey due to the entire botanical composition of the biodiversity of Montgó.
Miel Montgó started with just six hives and now there are 20 that bring together thousands of bees, producing a large amount of honey and contributing to the pollination of the species in the area. But Eduardo’s objective is not to fill the plot with vessels, “we do the entire process of caring for and collecting honey by hand. We do not use chemical products nor do we want to put the honey through any heating or pasteurization process, we seek to make it the most sustainable and natural,
In 2023, a total of 120 kilos were collected last autumn, “this honey being darker in colour than that of the spring campaign,” explains Eduardo, who adds that it can be purchased through different points of sale.
Experience Apitourism
And within this enclosure, which is being adapted for other activities, Eduardo and Jan offer different apitourism experiences in which in addition to carrying out a journey through the Natural Park area, beekeeping is explained, the hives are visited and honey tasting is carried out. To do this route, which lasts two and a half hours, in which capacity is limited to 15 people, you must reserve in advance via email or follow the publications on their social networks.
Here is the website if you would like to buy this delicious honey, visit the apiary and support a local business.
