Traffic is building across the streets of Meskel Square overlooking Hyatt Regency. Not the ordinary kind, no. Drones have inhabited a spot above the hotel, causing quite a buzz. The drones are often accompanied by workers moving abruptly towards a central figure at 20 miles per hour in service of the crown. The traffic is yellow, busy and small but comprised of about 60,000 individuals confined to a veranda at Hyatt, which is white, tall and radiates a kind of splendor.
Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa has taken on new guests on its terrace. Some 60,000 bees are being hosted at the hotel as it begins its campaign to reclaim the time when bees were a thriving population of insects. Bees have been around for millions of years, pollinating our plants along the way. These yellow warriors, however, are in serious decline all over the world due to climate change and the use of pesticides. The greatest contribution of these honey producers is their pollination of nearly three-quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world’s food.
The hotel is a pillar in the city, possessing innovative ideas for sustainability such as that of the water bottling project. In the spirit of such grand actions, Cluster General Manager of Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa Heddo Siebs saw an opportunity lurking. He thought it would be a great idea to produce honey for the hotel as part of its farm-to-table initiative while at the same time doing his part to sustain the local bee population!
The hotel contacted its honey supplier to organize a ready-to-go beehive with a colony of bees. Then, Hyatt just needed to see if the bees would produce honey!
A beekeeper is contracted seasonally to maintain the hives and to harvest the honey. As many as 60,000 bees in four beehives settled in comfortably on hotel grounds. It was found that if people let bees get on with their jobs of producing honey, they really do not bother people. The bees thrived, and honey production was a success, so much so that three additional bee families will be joining the hives in June, thereby increasing the total number of bees to around 105,000.
The white facade of Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa overlooking Meskel Square has added a hint of yellow to its complexion. Meskel Gold, the sweet honey harvested from the hives, is sold to guests at The Market. Local bees, local honey.
HYATT REGENCY ADDIS ABABA
Meskel Square, Addis Ababa
