By now all of you know of my interest in farming, and writing for The Alternate Consumer has been a fun way to expand my knowledge of farm and garden products available to us. The farming possibilities available in urban and suburban settings continue to amaze me — from the fact that people in Chicago (and New York) are allowed to keep chickens — to the urban beekeeper, these urban wannabee farmers are letting nothing stop them from growing their own food. These are the people that inspire my husband and me to do what we can from our suburban locale to fulfill our dream of being farmers.

Natural England, a conservation group in England, has been in the business of conserving bees since Great Britain’s bee population, along with the rest of the worldwide bee population, took a hard hit a couple of years ago. They are currently installing beehives on top of buildings in London. Their hope is to attract more urban beekeepers to rebuild their bee population. The beehive they’re using, the Beehaus, is marketed by a company called Omlet.

The UK based Omlet, is the same company that created the Eglu chicken house, (another neat product), a few years ago. Omlet has designed a new Beehaus that can house more bees than the average beehive.

The Beehaus and starter kit come with everything you need to start beekeeping – the beehaus, full body suit, hive tool, liquid smoker, gloves and beekeeping guide. Bees have to be purchased separately.  The Beehaus is not cheap by any means.  In US dollars it is to the tune of approximately $790. (Omlet USA does not currently have the Beehaus, so this would need to be purchased through the UK, £495.) I Contacted the company and here’s the word — They can offer the beehous for sale in the US, but it will be shipped from the UK.  The next shipment will be in the new year, so any orders placed placed over the coming months will be received in early 2010.  The cost is $765 + shipping.