Nothing compares. The most beautiful bee hives money can buy.
– Beelady Hoffman, Westland, Michigan
Several years ago we purchased a number of Albert’s Eco Bee hives and we have been absolutely delighted with the results! Within our several apiaries and over 50 locations we maintain over 120 Langstroth and top-bar hives together with a few Long hives and Warré hives. But, none of these hives provides the benefits of Albert’s Eco Bee hives. We value Albert’s Eco Bee hives for the following reasons:
- These hives are easier to set up and grow and develop faster than any traditional hive,
- They have a small footprint and allow backyard beekeepers who could not normally host a large Langstroth or Top-bar hive to enter beekeeping using one of Albert’s hives,
- The small hives house a smaller and more manageable number of bees compared with traditional hives, which in turn reduces the fear factor generally associated with the traditional larger hives,
- They are the most ideal hive for teaching, allowing small frames to be easily passed around and studied in a group of people without the typical bee reaction to a frame of bees,
- Finding the queen in an Eco Hive is relatively simple and easy compared with larger hives,
- Albert’s Eco Bee hives do not require any equipment to harvest the honey, which can easily be harvested by even a novice beekeeper,
- Using the Eco Hive dramatically shortens the time required to learn beekeeping and enjoy bees.
We can fairly and honestly say that we believe the Eco Bee hive has the potential to completely change the way the average backyard beekeeper keeps bees by shortening the learning curve about bees, making it easier for people to keep bees and reducing the churn rate associated with people who keep bees. His hive design has very significantly changed the way we are able to effectively teach beekeeping.
The Santa Barbara Beekeepers Association is a 501c3 organization dedicated to protecting bees and educating the next generation of beekeepers. Our board has over 75 years of combined beekeeping experience. We manage and maintain over 120 hives in the Santa Barbara county area and have over 250 members. Through our classroom activities as well as our apiary meetups for members, we teach over 200 students a year about the art of beekeeping.
– Curtis Skene, Santa Barbara Beekeeping Association
Any contact I have ever had with you has been wonderful. Your passion comes across in everything you do, and your willingness to provide above and beyond support to both fledgling and veteran bee keepers is unmatched. Thank you!
– Emily Crawford, Dale, New York
VERY IMPRESSIVE, This is what makes Beekeeping exciting and fresh. A new generation of Beekeepers with a great look in there back yards instead of those old drab looking hives that no one wants to get around. This helps create an interest with people from all walks of life.
– Michael Lowe, Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Great work, you've actually brought the beekeeping industry up a level.
– Jeffery Seager, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
I thought I wanted to be a beekeeper as a hobby. I walked into a local farm store and was checking it out and the equipment that went with it. I was like that’s a lot of stuff to buy and looks very complicated. Which also equates to a lot of money. I walked outta the store feeling like so much for being a beekeeper. Some time passed and I had not thought about it too much. Lo and behold I was driving down the street one day and saw a bee shop. I pulled in and met Al Chubak. We became immediate friends. Within half an hour I was convinced that using Al’s urban mini hive was for me. Talking with Al is amazing and fun. Al set me up with some starter bees to make a queen and I said “what?” He said keep in touch and keep an eye out for a queen cell. Sure nuff. Cell made and queen started to make more bees. 4 years later and many colonies started and having wintered many hives in my yard I’m having a great time being a beekeeper!!! I read somewhere that you should move a hive no more than 5 feet or 2 miles. I move mine annually from the back of the house to the front of the house where it’s warmer. That’s due to Al’s teaching and the ease of use with the Mini hive. Since that day meeting Al, a number of us friends in this area have all gotten into the Mini hives. When one colony fails, we share brood frames so the colony recovers. We have a sustainable hobby among us. Al provides advice and we play with our bees and support each other.
– Steve Prior
I had a passing interest in beekeeping for many years but was intimidated by the expense, learning curve, and space necessary to raise bees. Several years ago, I discovered the Eco Bee Box Mini Urban Hive and was delighted to find that it was simple, affordable, and would work right in my backyard! I started my first year with a simple two box setup and was able to raise my own queen, grow a thriving colony and even get a bit of honey. Over the next few years, using Albert’s system, I have expanded to two multiple box setups and even raised enough bees to provide six splits to my neighbors so they could begin beekeeping. Using Eco Bee Box’s system and training has been fun and educational. Utah has some rough winters and my hives have done well through the winters and each spring I look forward to seeing my bees take flight. The honey production has been great averaging over a gallon of honey a season and, as an added benefit, all the blooming plants in the backyard and neighborhood have never been healthier! Albert won Best of State Business Innovation award in Utah, that was not surprising to me at all!
– Dave Chapman
