As upbeat music plays, we move through a garden filled with beehive frames. Three bees fly into the shot, buzzing and leading us down the path. White text pops up that reads, “SAVANNAH BEE COMPANY PRESENTS,” then “AN ALIENWORX PRODUCTION,” then “DIRECTED BY JOSHUA JASSO.”

We fly out over the entrance to a beach. The rocky coast, bright blue ocean and wide horizon come into view.

In the sky, the Savannah Bee Company logo fades in, with “EXUMA, THE BAHAMAS” written beneath it in blue.

Rosemary Minns speaks. “I love that they're so industrious.”

We see a close-up of bees flying, buzzing and crawling, then a branch with pink and yellow flowers. We then see bees flying around multi-colored frames.

[Rosemary] continues: “And they only have five weeks or so to live. When you find one clambering on a rock and you see his little wings are all chewed up and beaten out—”

A bee climbs and crawls on the edge of a frame. The sun shines through the branch of a tree. We see [Rosemary] speak to the camera. Her name and the words, “Received two of the twelve hives brought to Exuma” appear at the bottom of the screen.

[Rosemary] says, “You realize that he's flown miles and miles with those wings, and it's now the end of his life. And it just moves me.”

Transition to a beautiful, sunlit landscape of The Bahamas with the words “EXUMA THE BAHAMAS” laid over it. On the left side of the words we see colorful frames of beehives with the words “CAUTION BEES” on a yellow sign. To the right of the words we see the Bee Cause Project logo, a cartoon bee with a pencil as a stinger. Sweeping, uplifting music plays in the background.

Ricardo Moore speaks. His name, along with the words “Received four of the twelve hives brought to Exuma” appears at the bottom of the screen. He says, “To my knowledge, as far back as this person that I've spoken to could remember, there were no bees here at all.

The camera flies out over the light blue ocean and a small, rocky island.

[Ricardo] continues: “We've been trying to find that out. We've been trying to find out, just speaking to people around the island, why there were no bees on the island. But nobody seems to know the answer to that question.”

We see a close-up of bees crawling, then the bright, colorful sunrise over the horizon. Strummy guitar music plays. We see the ocean and landscape. Bees crawl in their hive and across yellow flowers and buzz around each other in the air.

The Exuma Project

Here at Savannah Bee Co., we understand that the destiny of humanity and honeybees is deeply intertwined. The Exuma Project shows just how much of an impact we can have on each other: In 2014, SBC founder Ted Dennard got a message from the Exuma Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving and uplifting the lives of the people of a small chain of islands in the Caribbean. He learned that in spite of its balmy beach weather and many acres of flowering plants, Exuma had absolutely no honeybees anywhere—an absence that called Ted into action.

Applying the experience he gained in the Peace Corps in his younger years, Ted flew to Exuma to teach basic beekeeping skills to a small group of interested islanders. A year later, he returned on a private plane (who knew checking bees as baggage on a commercial airline is not allowed?) with 12 hives that were then introduced to pastel-colored boxes nestled along the coast and throughout the palm forests. It was then up to the burgeoning beekeepers to tend to this fragile experiment—and they made it a tremendous success: As Ted observes, “We hit the bullseye.”

Exuma now boasts 15 trained beekeepers who cultivate and care for many dozens of hives, supporting families with honey sales and bringing a sustainable source of economic growth to the island. Even more amazing is how the bees have thrived beyond the beekeepers’ purview and can now be found buzzing and pollinating throughout the wild tropical landscape—evidence that nature will always find a way.

The Exuma Project continues to grow with grants for new equipment and more hives. The grand experiments has also brought SBC’s Bee Cause Project to the schoolchildren of Exuma, inspiring a new generation of beekeepers to focus on creating a better world for all with the help of the bees.