SMARTERBEEKEEPING.BETTER HONEY.
We manufacture locally made, solar-powered smart beehives with IoT monitoring and automated thermoregulation, to help small-scale beekeepers protect their colonies and improve honey production.
The venture
Smart Hives is an agricultural technology venture based in Zimbabwe developing locally manufactured, solar-powered smart beehives for small-scale beekeepers in climate-sensitive areas such as the Inyangani Mountain region of Manicaland. Our hives combine IoT-enabled monitoring with automated thermoregulation to track hive conditions and weight, provide alerts, and support timely harvesting while reducing unnecessary hive inspections.
Since December 2024, we have developed and tested four working prototypes with Gavani Farms and Mwenje Wepano Apicultures. The prototypes also received second prize at the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) Agricultural Expo. We are now preparing for pilot testing with Gwanzaru and Kwadimbu Apicultures.
We also use Smart Hives to produce honey and compare yields and colony survival with conventional hives, generating performance data to guide scale-up.
Beekeeping is getting harder. For small-scale farmers in climate-sensitive areas such as Zimbabwe's Inyangani Mountain region, the old way of watching a hive is no longer enough.
Climate swings & high heat
Fluctuating and rising temperatures stress bee colonies and put honey production at risk.
Colony losses & uneven yields
Colonies can be lost, and harvests vary from season to season, which makes it hard to earn a steady income.
Traditional monitoring has limits
Checking a hive means opening it. Inspections disturb the bees, and problems can go unnoticed between visits.
A hive that watches over itself
Every Smart Hive is powered by the sun and connected to the internet, so the colony can be monitored without being disturbed.
What it means in the apiary
Better-informed harvesting
Weight tracking helps you decide when honey is ready to harvest.
Fewer unnecessary inspections
Alerts and viewing windows mean less opening, and less disturbance to the bees.
Protected colonies, steadier honey
Automated thermoregulation protects colonies and supports more consistent production.
Three hives,
built for Zimbabwe
Locally manufactured smart hives for different beekeepers and different bees. Each is built to be monitored, protected and managed with less guesswork.
Top barTop Bar Hive
Solar-powered, sensor-equipped, with two half-length viewing windows.
View the hive →
FlagshipWarré Hive Full Kit
2 Warré boxes with windows, composite roof, quilt box, base and feet.
View the kit →
PollinatorsMason Bee House
A solar-powered home for solitary mason bees, with a Smart Hives control unit.
View the house →Our honey is our evidence
We produce honey in our own smart hives to measure the technology's real-world impact, comparing honey yield and colony survival with conventional beekeeping.
When a colony thrives, so does everything around it
Bees do quiet work. Every flower they visit helps crops, orchards and wild plants set seed and fruit, and every colony is part of the landscape that keeps farms and communities fed.
As temperatures rise and the weather swings, colonies are lost, and the work they do goes with them. We build Smart Hives so that fewer are: hives that stay cooler in the heat, tell their keepers what is happening inside, and need less opening.
Protect the bees, and the harvest follows.
Built,
tested,
recognised
From first prototype to field testing with working apiaries, Smart Hives is being proven where it matters.
Four working prototypes Done
Four working prototypes of the Smart Hive developed and refined.
Tested with Gavani Farms and Mwenje Wepano Apicultures Done
Prototypes tested in working apiaries with our partner beekeepers.
Second prize, HIT Agricultural Expo Done
Prototypes showcased at the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) Agricultural Expo, where they received second prize.
Pilot testing with Gwanzaru and Kwadimbu Apicultures Planned
Wider pilots to gather results across more beekeepers.
The Smart App Planned
Remote monitoring for beekeepers, from anywhere.