Johanna Kylin at Aicha Vitalis is a creative multi-tasker. Her activities range from guided conversations, massage and body treatments, dance and creative creation to – beekeeping! For Johanna, it’s all about contributing to healthy lives for clients and fellow human beings.

Here Johanna tells more about her role as a bee farmer and how the Sustainable Entrepreneurship 2030 program has given her the opportunity to develop that part of the business.

Hi Johanna, tell us more about your beekeeping and how you got into it!

20 years ago I inherited a bee farm from a relative and then took a beekeeping course in Alunda. Then I got my own bees from a beekeeper nearby and got the opportunity to hurl the honey at her. One summer the bees were invaded by wasps and life got in the way, but the interest has always been there. I also like farming, and bees are part of the cycle – they are enormously beneficial.

A couple of years ago I felt ready again and took a course on how bees can live more naturally. My curiosity led from one thing to another and suddenly I was with bees again!

How did you come into contact with Upplandsbygd?

I love learning new things and have taken several different courses in beekeeping and gained knowledge from various Facebook groups. I understood there that there was much more to learn about beekeeping as a business and when I heard about Upplandsbygd I applied for the Sustainable Entrepreneurship 2030 program, but I had not understood the breadth of what it meant, at that time I was only focused on environmental issues.

What inspired you to pursue more sustainable entrepreneurship?

My beekeeping in Östhammar municipality is already sustainable in itself. Every third bite we eat is a result of pollination from bees and other pollinators. Without bees as pollinators, we would miss out on many foods – and that doesn’t just apply to fruit and vegetables. Bees are our most important pollinators and we need more bee colonies in Sweden for good harvests and locally grown food.

There are also incredible health benefits to freshly churned honey, unlike imported or chemically produced honey which may taste like honey but from a health perspective is the exact opposite, a chemical soup! Honey is one of the most adulterated food products. I want to share all the knowledge I have gathered with others, so it's not just about owning bees and selling churned honey.

How has your business developed since you were accepted into the program?

A lot! Thanks to the support, I have been able to plan for the development of the business. I have gone from churning honey in my own kitchen to building a churning room where I can empty jars, develop new products and hold courses. I have also got a logo in place and the next step is help with marketing.

What does sustainable entrepreneurship mean to you?

Thanks to the Sustainable Entrepreneurship 2030 program, I can look at sustainability from a broader perspective. Part of it is the economic part that must be sustainable for it to work. There is no business that would run if there were no economy in it, but economic systems must also take into account the limits of the planet and the needs of people.

Through my participation in the program, I have also been able to listen to incredible speakers who have shared knowledge about sustainable business, the environment, and circular thinking. It has been super interesting!

Do you have any advice for others who want to pursue more sustainable entrepreneurship?

It's not enough to just look at the environment. For the whole thing to work, you need to balance the issues of people, the environment and the economy to understand how they affect each other. Sometimes you have to lower your standards in order to then support the environment even better!