First Introductions
Meet Jim, He is a master-certified beekeeper who was kind enough to allow me to tour his farm for this project.
On the first visit to the bee farm, the smoker stood out. As Jim demonstrated how to use it, pain points were abundant.
Fire!
Efficiency
Jim told me a personal story of a peer who had all of their beehives burned down because the smoker fell over in the back of a truck.
Learning Curve
Jim often trains new beekeepers, and said the smoker was the hardest tool to learn because it takes skill to get the fire going correctly.
Continuously fueling the fire and cleaning the can or two things that Jim seemed to have to do constantly when smoking bees.
How does it affect the bees?
Why smoke?
Is this harmful?
Farmers like smoke because fuel is free ( yard shavings)
Smoke is completely safe for bees and doesn’t negatively affect their health.
Smoke servers to stop bees from communicating, stopping them from getting alarmed and attacking.
Listening to the experts
Showing my work
Finding a new hobby
Recently I returned to my middle school the dePaul school to teach the kids about the life cycle of bees. I also talked about being an industrial designer and what that entails.
