Our Growers

We are honoured to be able to buy amazing ingredients from primary producers

Beeswax

Steff and Rob are living their vision for the world – a world that is healthy, robust and has a joyful future. Their farm at the base of the beautiful Grampians National Park is steadily returning to vitality through their dedicated care of the soil and pasture.

Rob describes himself as an apiarist rather than a beekeeper, as a mark of respect for the bees. Beekeeper seems to imply ownership and dominance, whereas Rob’s relationship with the bees is based on care and the principle of mutual benefit. Rob ensures healthy hives and an adequate food supply to the colonies. In return, he is able to harvest bee produce without stress to the bees.

Rob says "It is the grass the captures the energy from the sun. Through careful farming of the grass we are able to create a sustainable system of interdependence between the grass and the animals that feed from it, all without the use of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides.” Walking with Steff and Rob through their paddocks and identifying the diversity of plant species is a lesson in the importance of observing the smallest detail whilst keeping your eye on the big picture.    

Albert Einstein is credited with the prophetic statement "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

Caring for bees is about caring for the world.

Olive Oil

Just on the outskirts of Boort in Central Victoria is Salute Oliva, 8 hectares of peaceful olive grove producing premium, certified organic extra virgin olive oil and table olives.

Peter and Marlies are Swiss émigrés who traded the European alps for opportunities in metro Melbourne in the late 1980’s. In 2005 they made their tree change to Boort, in pursuit of a more natural lifestyle where their children would be able to roam, explore and free range within a nurturing and caring community.

These same aspirations and values are the underpinning of their husbandry of their land and their grove. Peter is completely tuned into the microbiology of the soil through drought, flood, and even the occasional gentle summer, understanding that the health of the soil determines the health of the plants and trees. And Marlies reminds us “It is not a weed unless it gets in your way”.

In this way they gently and organically tend their land and trees, and the whole process of planting, pruning, composting, harvesting, pickling, extracting, bottling, and meeting visitors at their farm gate.

We are fortunate that Peter and Marlies are latter day farmers, with engineering education and experience behind their meticulous and sophisticated farming and processing methods. Our family and friends relish the oil and the table olives. de’bee loves Salute Oliva oil.

NASAA Certification number 3807