Plan BEE

Launched in 2013, Plan BEE is one of ONYX Hospitality Group's latest CSR programmes. The objective is the conservation of natural biodiversity in a bid to save the Asian honeybee (Apis Cerena) from extinction. To do this, we are engaging experts to train communities in urban and rural areas of Thailand the skills and techniques of beekeeping to maintain a healthy Asian honeybee population. Participants also learn about the important ecological role bees play in the environment.

The first step towards this was the Urban Beekeeping project - Oriental Residence Bangkok with its CSR focus on biodiversity, was the first serviced residence or hotel to undertake an urban beekeeping initiative in Bangkok. Team members were educated using bee-friendly modified Warré-type hives and now make yearly visits to the property to harvest the honey and use it as an ingredient for food and beverages served at Café Claire.

More recently, the Rural Beekeeping project was launched and Shama Sukhumvit Bangkok, in line with their CSR efforts towards stimulating entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation in local communities. The project provides practical training and the start-up tools to rural farming communities in Thailand, enabling communities to earn a supplementary income. The first of which took place at Baan Kao Kram, a village in Krabi in November 2013. As part of their Baht for a Better Life initiative, Amari and The Mosaic Collection also engaged students and schools in a similar manner. The first harvest of Rural Beekeeping will take place in March 2014.

Finally, ONYX plans to introduce Plan Bee Honey in to its property supply chain for its restaurants and spas to support the community and help sustain the project.