A little honey and a lot of hope at The Carpenter’s Arms! 

The Carpenter’s Arms is launching an appeal to bring bees and honey production to its Six Hills site. Sales from the initiative, which will be known as Six Hills Honey, will raise funds towards sustaining the charity’s residential accommodation and services for many years to come.  

An initial 20 beehives will house the first colony of bees and sponsorship is now sought from individuals and businesses to help the project take flight. The first harvest is expected later this year, with three products planned: raw honey; honey with honeycomb; and pollen by-product (popular with individuals interested in personal fitness and high protein products.) The next phase of the project will be to introduce a further 80 beehives to Six Hills and to a plot of land in Melton Mowbray that the charity has been given use of. 

The project is a natural progression to our Malone Meadows where we’ve made significant progress over the last year in developing a purposeful farm-to-fork initiative that includes fruit trees, vegetable beds and a flock of chickens.  

CEO of The Carpenter’s Arms Richard Spence said: “Our charity is reliant on public funding and donations but increasingly, we are facing a deficit. We think Six Hills Honey will hold appeal for local businesses because the project is self-replicating which means, through only a small initial sponsorship, it will grow significantly year on year. 

“Beyond the obvious benefits as an income stream for The Carpenter’s Arms, there will be a positive impact on local ecology in the Charnwood area, helping to maintain the biodiversity of plants and improve air quality.”

In return for a one-off sponsorship of £500, local businesses are being offered:  

• • the opportunity to be part of a worthwhile initiative from the very start, with the satisfaction that it will only grow year upon year;  

• • a gift of the first pot of honey from their designated hive;  

• • favourable rates on future honey; and  

• • PR support to celebrate their commitment to standing alongside work in drug and alcohol addiction recovery, and sustainability.  

For a small additional fee, a personalised, engraved sign of the company name can also be included on their designated hive.  

More information is available here: https://carpenters-arms.org/fundraising/beehive-sponsorship/.

For more information, watch our reel below. 👇