Sonoma Report
From her Dry Creek Valley homestead, Healdsburg beekeeper Candice Koseba manages local hives and produces small-batch honey, beeswax goods, lotions, salves and other products through Sonoma County Bee Company. Her work also connects Sonoma County beekeepers with rural communities in Kenya.
Koseba helped found BEE in Kenya, short for Beekeepers and Educators Engaged in Kenya. The nonprofit supports beekeepers in the Maasai Mara region with equipment, training, educational materials and other resources intended to strengthen local communities and the landscapes on which they depend, according to the Healdsburg Tribune.
The organization’s second annual BEE in Kenya Dinner is scheduled for Sept. 12. The fundraiser will include an art auction, live music, honey tastings and a whole roasted goat prepared by chef Michael Degen, a former sous chef at Healdsburg’s Scopa Restaurant. Donated artwork is expected from Jake Messing, Jessica Martin, Sebastian Pochan and other artists.
Money raised at the event will support rural Kenyan beekeepers. BEE in Kenya also uses its programs and tours to build relationships between participants from Sonoma County and Maasai communities. Its work includes purchasing log hives made by local craftspeople for use by other beekeepers.
The nonprofit’s Kenya program grew from eco-tours that began in 2018 under the guidance of Koseba’s mentor, Maryanne Frazier, a former associate professor of entomology at Penn State. Those tours bring beekeepers and other travelers to meet Kenyan beekeepers and learn about local practices. Participants have also supported water projects, a girls’ dormitory and playgrounds, while beekeeping remains the central focus.
The 2027 Beekeepers and Educators Tour is planned for February. Groups of 10 to 15 people spend two weeks visiting wildlife parks, a rural school and the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology, along with participating in activities with Maasai communities.
Koseba moved to California from Indiana in 2010 and became interested in bees after observing them while walking with her newborn son. She is now 39 and has children attending Westside Elementary and Windsor High. In addition to her beekeeping business, she has worked as a forager for SingleThread Farm and leads guided honey-tasting events at Montage.
BEE in Kenya was registered as a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2025, the Tribune reported.
