Projects focused on saving the threatened bee population are flourishing worldwide, but the problem still remains a source of concern for many. Product designer Michael Leung recently launched his own inspired response to the issue. As Hong Kong’s first urban bee keeper, Leung is revolutionizing bee keeping in the region with his HK Honey project. The program brings together artists, designers and bee keepers in the hopes of creating a channel to communicate the value of bees in the community, as well as the benefits of producing honey locally.
[vimeo width=”537″ height=”412″]http://vimeo.com/21746934[/vimeo]
Under HK Honey, an expanding network of bee farms work in collaboration with a design studio and cafes scattered around Hong Kong. The groups have formed a relationship between design and honey production: both harvesting local honey and creating products and services related to urban bee keeping.
Through the project Leung urges people to be less detached about where their food comes from. “The origins of food have kind of become a mystery now,” he states in the advertisement above. “Bees actually help pollinate roughly one third of our food and without them…we’d have to do hand pollination.”
With more alarming statistics andpossible new threatsarising all the time, Leung’s calm approach offers a serene alternative by gently promoting urban bee keeping. Leung does however believe that with the lack of green spaces in the city, the top challenge will be to see if the bees can survive and harvest honey within an urban setting.
+Hong Kong Honey
Images courtesy of HK Honey and Nokia
