The people of Albania believe that a house with bees is a prosperous household and so, bees have been bringing good fortune to our family for more than four generations.
MALËSI (translated Great Highlands) is a family business belonging to the Malecaj family and our story began with our great-grandfather Stërgjyshi…
Stërgjyshi is our family’s first recorded beekeeper. Sadly, we don’t have any photos of him, or his bees, but know from family folklore, that he started his beekeeping from very humble beginnings.
Stërgjyshi lived in the rural mountain village of Reç. The Malësors (Albanian highlanders) were humble villagers and each household owned some form of livestock to provide food and income for the family.
Stërgjyshi started out with a single beehive and became captivated by the craft. Legend has it, that he would transport his beehives by donkey, taking them to the most rich and fertile parts of the mountains during the nectar flow, so his bees would produce a special kind of honey.
Gjyshi carried on in the footsteps of his Father, crafting honey to supply to the local villagers. Word soon spread about the delicious honey that he would prodcue and so his little apiary grew a little larger, to keep up with demand from the surrounding villages.
He was often accompanied by his first-born son Babi, who was captivated by the craft from a very young age.
Babi was the best beekeeper in the whole of Malësia e Madhe. His reputation was undisputed and what he didn’t know about bees, isn’t worth knowing.
Having learnt his craft from the age of five, Babi grew an apiary that became known far across Albania. His colonies would always be strong & healthy, and just like Gjyshi, Babi would migrate with his bees across the mountainous landscape, following the flow of nectar. Luckily for him the hives would now be transported by vehicle, giving Babi and the donkey a well-earned rest!
Babi’s life-long passion became quite the impressive enterprise. He single-handedly grew the colonies to a number of about sixty hives (that’s about three million bees during the height of summer!). Babi worked carefully & meticulously with the bees, a trait he passed on to his two sons, who, today, carry on Babi’s great legacy…
Today, the bees are mostly looked after by our Head Beekeeper Bert (pictured right) and during the busiest summer months, Bert is joined by brother Lindi (shown centre) and Lindi’s wife Kaya, who travel from England to help look after the hives.
Just like our ancestors before us, we adopt a natural approach to our beekeeping. Our ethos is to raise bees without using synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, or artificial diets. In turn, they gift us with delicious, pure, raw & 100 % natural honey.