A company inspired by Farai Chinomwe’s dedication to saving bees has donated four beehives to help the beekeeper save as many bees as possible.
Elias Farai Chinomwe is a Zimbabwean/South African man living and working as a beekeeper in Johannesburg. He loves running and he loves bees so he decided to pair his two passions up and run to raise awareness. Only, he started running backwards to do it.
The beekeeper first discovered his knack for running backwards while returning home from a bee removal job. His car broke down with a crate full of bees on his backseat. Chinomwe pushed his car but found that he had more strength when he turned around and pushed the vehicle backwards.
This inspired him to start running backwards for bees. He works to remove bees from homes and public spaces and relocate them to safe areas where they can live freely. The plight to save bees is a vital one as, without bees, our food sources will dwindle.
Fulcrum, a company with a focus on the insurance industry, heard his story and became inspired by his efforts. The company has many avid runners and a passion to help within the environment. For this reason, they knew that Chinomwe’s cause was the one to back.
“A number of us at Fulcrum are runners, which is how we became aware of Farai,” says Fulcrum’s head of people and brand, Clodagh da Paixao.
“It sparked my interest when I saw him and wanted to know why he was running backwards. How fascinating to find out that there’s an amazing story and journey he has been on to support bees.
“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him in person a few times, and each time he just amazes me with his knowledge of bees, beekeeping and – most importantly –the need for education around bees, in particular in disadvantaged areas.”
The company donated four new beehives to Chinomwe, a small token to thank him for his efforts.
“It’s well known that bees are essential to the environment, and to human survival; without them, we cannot pollinate the crops on which we rely. Advocates for bees, such as Farai, need all the help they can get and supporting him is a natural extension of our growing environmental awareness.”
It seems that Chinomwe inspires wherever he is spotted or whenever someone hears his remarkable story.
“Running backwards has set me free, and I’ve met other people … Things that would not have happened if I was running forwards,” Farai says. “It’s changing the way people see bees. They are putting down pesticides, and they are rescuing bees out of swimming pools.”
His mission is working and his message is being spread far and wide, the bees are life and to save us, we must save them first. Thanks to Fulcrum for sponsoring the new beehives, you have helped make more of our precious buzzers safe.
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