From a Hobby to a Honey Farming Business: The Journey of INDIGENOUS HONEY

Indigenous Honey is proud to produce raw, unfiltered honey that is NMR-tested for adulteration and tested for antibiotic residues. What started as a small beekeeping hobby has grown into a trusted honey brand, and your support and trust have helped us grow, believe in ourselves, and expand further.

I’m Vimal Vadher, and I would love to share the story behind this journey. It began with a simple question: why was it so hard to find honey that was genuinely raw? So much of the honey on store shelves had been heated, filtered or blended, and that sparked my deep curiosity about real honey.

Another turning point came during a trip with my elder brother to the hilly region of Saputara, Gujarat. I noticed several boxes placed at intervals, which I later learned were beehive boxes. A local explained the concept of beekeeping to me. Until then, I only knew of wild honey harvesting — the traditional but heartbreaking method where the entire honeycomb is destroyed, taking away bees’ lives, homes, eggs, and more. Beekeeping, on the other hand, is a cruelty-free method that protects bees and their colonies. It was clear to me then — we humans are not meant to harm lives for our gain.

With this belief, I entered the world of beekeeping, unaware of the challenges ahead. I still remember my first day of training when my instructor asked me to hold a bee in my bare hand. I hesitated out of fear, but once I did it, I felt an emotional connection — all my fears disappeared. That was in 2012, and I began with just 10 beehive boxes. Training taught me how to handle bees, but life taught me the rest.

I slept in farms, battled mosquitoes, faced helpers quitting due to fear of bees, and dealt with landowners asking me to remove my hives. During monsoons, I struggled to find shelter for the bees. The hardest part was watching bees die in summer due to the lack of flowers. There was a time I considered selling everything and quitting. But my connection to the bees and my passion for the work kept me going.

These bees gave me strength. Over time, my 10 boxes grew into 2,000. I started harvesting large quantities of raw honey. In 2018, I launched my own brand, Indigenous Honey, with one goal: to share honest, raw honey exactly as the bees make it.

My elder brother has supported me throughout this journey, and our customers’ appreciation has kept us growing.

We later introduced other beekeeping and honey-based products — and have received the same love and trust from people all around.

This is the journey of INDIGENOUS HONEY…
The journey of a Beekeeper.