How We Began....
Apiarist Maan Tamang is originally from the foothills of northern Nepal and grew up in a village community where traditional farming, trading and community-bonding practices have been in place for many generations. He brought his stories and experiences with him when he migrated to Port Chalmers, Dunedin, New Zealand in late 2001. After settling into life in New Zealand and gaining skills in the logging and building trades, Maan's connection with bees and beekeeping started one afternoon in 2008 when his neighbour, Peter Sales, asked him to help with moving some of his beehives. Seeing his interest in the bees and hives, Peter offered to show Maan a thing or two about the bees. This eventually led to Maan buying a couple of beehives from Peter in 2010; this slowly built up to purchasing some of Peter's business when he retired and moved away in 2014.
Once his beehives were producing a regular supply of honey, Maan wanted to incorporate his traditional beliefs of trading and providing local products to local people and businesses for a healthier community and local economy. This is when Maan and Lila met and discovered they shared similar values and interests. Lila has a background in teaching English, administration and working with social services and ethnic community groups both in New Zealand and abroad. She spent several years living in India and Nepal and understands the traditional practices of Nepal. She took on the challenge of creating a sales and marketing platform for providing wholesome, local varieties of honey to the public directly from the beekeeper's hives.
A few years ago, Maan was approached by a few locals in the Port Chalmers and Waitati areas who asked if they could hire some of his beehives and over the years this increased to Maan renting out 12 beehives. And that's where Rentahive comes in. Maan would hear about how it was doing when he would stop in for honey extration and queen bee services at Murray and Heidi Rixon's - who established Rentahive some 15 years ago. So when Rentahive came up for sale, it seemed like a good fit with what Maan had already established.
Hive rental allows you to try before you buy, if you suspect you have beekeeper potential. Rentahive will retain responsibility for the hive, it's health and management throughout the year. You will reap the rewards from our tiny golden friends, choosing your level of involvement, secure in the knowledge that your first bountiful crop of glorious honey is underway...
Maan Tamang - Apiarist
If you see Maan at one of the local community markets in Dunedin you may overhear him joking with his customers, "Did you know Sir Edmund Hillary was a beekeeper before he climbed Mt Everest? I came to New Zealand because he decided he wanted my mountains in Nepal, so someone had to come here to look after his bees!" Lila White - Rentahive and Mihiwaka Honey Sales and Marketing Manager
