Today we’d like to introduce you to William Crumpler II.
William, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It was all a part of God’s plan. 2015 was a pretty rough year for me. By the end of it, I was battling with depression, anxiety, and stress and felt like I had hit rock bottom. Early 2016 my parents rented a plot at a community garden to grow food in. Neither one of them had grown anything before nor had the time or energy to keep up with it so I ended up taking care of it. I never grew anything before either and really never had an interest in anything related to gardening. So after cleaning up the plot, I planted a few vegetables and waited a few weeks. Well of course the vegetables begin to grow and I was instantly fascinated. I started using any free time that I had to learn about gardening and plants. By the end of the year, not only did I grasp the concept of growing your own food but I was also in a better space mentally. Digging in the soil and tending to nature was peaceful and made me look at life totally different. I continued growing food and doing research for the next couple of years. At the end of 2017, I came across an article talking about honeybees dying and that pollinators were the reason we are able to eat some of the food we eat. So I dug a little deeper and did some more research and found out that actually anybody can become a beekeeper. All you had to do was order supplies and bees and start. Me being the curious person that I am I jumped out on a limb and ordered bees and equipment. They were going to arrive May 2018. That gave me a few months to prepare and get ready for them. After watching a few YouTube videos, I was so amazed at how honeybees work and could not wait to get them. They came and once again, I instantly fell in love. Well because I was new to agriculture and trying to learn as much as possible, I’ve had to split my time up as much as possible between growing food and honeybees. Over the years, I’ve seen a need for education about pollinators and honeybees in our community. This year, 2022, is the first year that I have focused solely on honeybees.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been many struggles along the way. Black people are unfairly represented in the beekeeping community. This unfair representation results in lack of knowledge and resources available. A lot of the things I learned were through trial and error. Also, I had to move my bees from the original location I had them in since 2018 this past year because the owner was selling the property. This was last minute and the weather was not ideal to move bees. I lost over half of my hives and had to pretty much start over.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well I’m a beekeeper. I take care of honeybees and I play around with the byproducts that come from honeybees such as beeswax, pollen, and honey. I’m most proud of going outside the norm and sticking with becoming a beekeeper. What sets me apart from others is my passion to educate the community. I want to expose and teach as many people as possible about honeybees and pollinators.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Do as much research as possible and try to go to a couple of classes and get your feet wet. Remember honeybees are apart of nature, something we have no control over. The less you mess with them and try to manipulate them the better. And last but not least try and get you a mentor. Some of the mistakes I made early on and still may make can be avoided by having someone who has been around bees for a while to reach out to.
Contact Info:
- Email: Rootedfaithfarm@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downsouthorganicgardener/
