Discovering beekeeping

Gual is a member of the Association for the Protection of Native Majorcan Bees and he’s proud of keeping Majorcan bees without feeding them artificially, of producing honey on the island with the ÉsMel quality guarantee and packing it on his own premises.  The honey is natural, raw and has no additives.

This honey producer shares his beekeeping passion with whoever wants to listen, which is why he organises visits and acts as the guide himself.

The tour goes around his estate to look at his hives. Whenever possible, Bartomeu will let you use a beekeeping suit with a net mask and gloves to avoid getting stung. The tour is for all ages. You can see the hives up close and how they operate, and in the buildings, you can visit the honey extraction room and the packing room and see how artisan honey is made. After the tour, children can draw and colour in bees and make artisan candles, and the adults can try fresh honey with sobrasada (raw, cured sausage) for example. Son Frare likes to adapt to its visitors.

The other visit option is aimed at school children. Slides are used to explain the importance of bees, their life cycle and their interaction with the ecosystem and workshops are organised so that children can learn how honey is produced. It includes a visit to an observation hive.

As far as Bartomeu is concerned, any time of the year is good for visiting Son Frare and his bees because wherever you go “you’ll always see bees”. Although it’s best if it’s not raining as “we cover our bees”. His favourite seasons are spring and autumn when the bees are most active and produce the spring honey (known as milflores, which means a thousand flowers) and the autumn honey (known as algarrobo, which means carob tree).

You must phone Bartomeu or send an email to organise your visit to Son Frare. Tours usually last around 90 minutes and are given in Spanish, Catalan and English. Bartomeu recommends comfortable footwear, boots, if possible, and, above all, not wearing perfume.