Commercial environmental sponsorship · Torfaen & South Wales

Partner with Tŷ Mêl Apiary: Environmental & Community Sponsorships

At CalonTerra Ltd (trading as Tŷ Mêl Apiary), we run an independent, science-led breeding program focused on establishing a Varroa-resistant, chemical-free Welsh honeybee across Torfaen and South Wales. As a private commercial enterprise rather than a registered charity, we do not take donations; instead, we offer Commercial Environmental Sponsorships.

Why we are set up this way and why we need your support: Traditional funding models often rely on short-term grants that fail to build long-term biological resilience. Our operational plan is built on a closed-loop, assembly-line model where 100% of sponsorship funds go directly into physical apiary hardware—from single wax-coated frames and bio-secure Varroa floors to full Anel production hives and children's protective suits for our free school outreach programs. By sponsoring a specific piece of equipment or setting up a monthly recurring backing, you become a direct stakeholder in expanding our local, chemical-free pollination network.

Browse sponsorships Monthly backing

Where your money goes

Why back Tŷ Mêl Apiary?

We need your help to fund the hands-on educational projects we run with our local community and Greenmeadow Community Farm. We operate on a strict transparent model: we do not take a wage or draw dividends from the business. Every single pound generated goes right back into caring for the bees, building bio-secure habitats, and expanding our outreach.

Ways you can contribute

  1. Fund a full colony

    Purchase a complete standard hive or a fully loaded stacked production hive with additional honey supers.

    Complete hive systems

  2. Build the assembly line

    Buy individual hive parts — like floors, brood boxes and frames — to help us physically scale our apiary network piece by piece.

    Core hive hardware

  3. Keep the wheels turning

    Sponsor our operational upkeep to help cover the fuel and maintenance required to run and service our growing network of apiary sites.

    Monthly subscriptions

Category 01

Complete Hive Systems

A whole colony's worth of hardware in a single sponsorship — everything a new production or breeding hive needs to go into the field.

  • Full production hive

    The Commercial Producer

    A complete Anel production hive: brood chamber, supers, bio-secure Varroa floor, insulated roof and a full complement of frames — deployed as a working honey-producing and breeding colony.

    £350

    Sponsor
  • New colony starter

    The Starter Colony

    Everything needed to establish a new chemical-free colony — brood box, frames, floor and roof — ready to receive a nucleus drawn from our Varroa-resistant breeding lines.

    £230

    Sponsor

Category 02

Core Hive Hardware

The component parts of the assembly line. Every item here is a physical piece of kit that goes straight onto a hive in Torfaen.

  • The Brood Box

    The heart of the hive, where the queen lays and the colony raises the next generation of resistant stock.

    £48

    Sponsor

  • The Super Box

    The honey storage chamber stacked above the brood nest, harvested only from the surplus a colony does not need for itself.

    £36

    Sponsor

  • The Varroa Floor

    A bio-secure open-mesh floor that lets mites drop clear of the colony, so infestation is monitored and managed without a single chemical treatment.

    £22

    Sponsor

  • The Insulated Roof

    Keeps condensation and cold out through a Welsh winter, cutting colony stress and the overwintering losses that follow it.

    £28

    Sponsor

  • The Transparent Crown Board

    Lets us read a colony's behaviour and temperament at a glance, without breaking the propolis seal or chilling the brood.

    £4

    Sponsor

  • Brood Frames (10-Pack)

    Ten frames of laying space, giving a queen the room she needs to build a strong, healthy brood nest.

    £20

    Sponsor

  • Super Frames (10-Pack)

    Ten shallow frames of honey storage — the comb our foragers fill during a good Welsh nectar flow.

    £18

    Sponsor

  • Wax Foundation Pack

    Clean, wax-coated foundation sheets that give the bees a starting template and keep our comb free of chemical residues.

    £17

    Sponsor

  • The Winter Feeder

    A rapid feeder fitted above the brood nest so a light colony can take syrup down safely before the cold sets in.

    £30

    Sponsor

  • Winter Rations

    Fondant and feed to carry a colony through the lean months between the last ivy flow and the first spring forage.

    £15

    Sponsor

  • The Royal Guard

    Queen protection kit — the cages and marking gear used to handle, track and safeguard our selected breeder queens.

    £15

    Sponsor

Category 03

Educational & Conservation Gear

The kit that puts people safely next to a live colony — free school outreach across Gwent, volunteer training, and swarm rescue work.

  • The Adult Beekeeper

    A full adult protective suit, gloves and boots for a volunteer or trainee working the apiary alongside us.

    £190

    Sponsor

  • The Junior Beekeeper

    A child-sized protective suit for our free school visits, so pupils can meet a working colony up close and in safety.

    £50.99

    Sponsor

  • The Gauntlets

    A pair of sting-proof gauntlets — the most frequently replaced item in an apiary that teaches as well as produces.

    £10

    Sponsor

  • The Hive Tool

    The single most-used tool in beekeeping: parting boxes, lifting frames and clearing brace comb at every inspection.

    £10

    Sponsor

  • The Smoker

    A stainless smoker to settle a colony during inspections and demonstrations, keeping both the bees and visiting children calm.

    £50

    Sponsor

  • The Swarm Catcher

    Bait hive and collection kit used to recover swarms across Torfaen and rehome them into managed, monitored colonies.

    £30

    Sponsor

Category 04

Monthly Subscriptions

Recurring backing is what lets us plan a season instead of a week. Every tier below bills monthly and can be cancelled at any time from your Stripe receipt.

  • The Hive Guardian

    Underwrites the running costs of an entire production hive across the season — the deepest ongoing backing we offer.

    £50per month

    Subscribe

  • The Winter Feeder

    Keeps feed and fondant flowing to colonies through the toughest months of the Welsh beekeeping year.

    £25per month

    Subscribe

  • The Swarm Catcher

    Funds the bait hives, fuel and callout kit behind our free swarm collection service across the county.

    £20per month

    Subscribe

  • The Hive Defender

    Steady backing for the bio-secure floors, mesh and monitoring that keep our colonies genuinely chemical-free.

    £15per month

    Subscribe

  • The Comb Builder

    Buys frames and wax foundation month after month, so every expanding colony always has room to grow into.

    £10per month

    Subscribe

  • The Forager

    The entry point. A small monthly contribution that, pooled across our backers, adds up to real hardware in the field.

    £5per month

    Subscribe

Sponsoring on behalf of a business or school?

Larger commercial partnerships, multi-hive placements and site-hosted apiaries are arranged directly. Tell us what you have in mind and we will put together a proposal covering placement, monitoring and reporting.

Email markus@tymel.co.uk or use the partnership enquiry form. Checkout is handled securely by Stripe; Tŷ Mêl Apiary never sees or stores your card details.