Devotion to the Way of the Bee
Stewards of the Hive
ALVARA's living covenant with the bees, the beekeepers, and the ecosystems that make all life possible.
Bees have been navigating this world for roughly 130 million years, since the age of the dinosaurs, long before our species took its first breath. They've built systems of collective intelligence, regenerative abundance, and vibrational communication that we're only beginning to understand.
The Covenant
The hive is not a metaphor. It's a model for how to live in symbiosis with our natural environment.
Stewards of the Hive is ALVARA's commitment to living in reciprocal relationship with our most essential partners: the bees, the beekeepers, and the ecosystems that sustain them all. STH is built on three interconnected initiatives: a collective of organizations devoted to pollinator vitality, a tithing model that directs resources to that collective, and an ongoing movement to educate and inspire people to enter into their own relationship with the way of the bee.
Why Bees Are Non-Negotiable
A Keystone Species
A keystone is the central stone of an arch. Remove it, and everything collapses. In ecology, a keystone species is one whose presence holds an entire system together, disproportionately large in impact relative to its size. Bees are among the clearest examples on Earth.
75%
of the world's flowering plants depend on animal pollinators
USDA NRCS
35%
of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators
USDA NRCS
90%
of flowering plant species are animal-pollinated
Tong et al., Natl Sci Rev, 2023
⅓
of all plants and plant products eaten by humans depend on bee pollination
UN FAO
62%
average colony loss reported by U.S. commercial beekeepers, June 2024 to February 2025
Project Apis m.
15/17
UN Sustainable Development Goals that bees contribute to achieving
Patel et al., Ambio, 2021
The cascade runs deep. Without bees, the plants that feed livestock would suffer, threatening meat and dairy supplies, driving prices up, and reducing nutritional diversity across the board. Their loss would trigger a bottom-up collapse throughout the food chain, affecting not just the plants they pollinate but every organism that depends on those plants to survive.
And the threat is real. Between June 2024 and February 2025, U.S. commercial beekeepers reported an average loss of 62% of their managed honey bee colonies, over 1.1 million colonies lost, one of the most severe declines on record.
Initiative One
The Collective
There are scores of organizations, researchers, beekeepers, and Indigenous wisdom carriers doing essential work for pollinators around the world. What they often lack is connection to one another and to the consumer brands that rely on their work.
Our role is to be bridge builders. The STH Collective is a curated network of individuals and organizations devoted to the protection and flourishing of bees, spanning conservation nonprofits, regenerative apiaries, Indigenous beekeeping communities, independent researchers, and purpose-driven brands. Rather than build something new from scratch, we cultivate and strengthen what already exists.
What the Collective Does
- Connects beekeepers to each other, to researchers, and to conservation organizations
- Facilitates resource-sharing, knowledge exchange, and collaborative projects
- Surfaces the voices and wisdom of Indigenous bee stewards who hold ancestral knowledge about hive health, honey harvesting as ceremony, and the spiritual intelligence of pollinators
- Hosts convenings, from small online gatherings to larger festivals, that bring the community into shared purpose
- Partners with organizations like Save the Bee (savethebee.org) whose work in habitat restoration, beekeeper support, and bee research aligns with our values
Governance
The Stewards Council
The Collective is guided by a Stewards Council, an advisory panel of boots-on-the-ground bee stewards, Indigenous beekeepers, and pollinator scientists who hold ALVARA accountable and inform how we source, operate, and show up for the bees.
The Council advises on our supply chain relationships, our giving priorities, and our educational programming. It operates in the tradition of an inclusion council: participants are experts in their domain, trusted to challenge us and guide us.
Supply Chain
Advises on sourcing relationships
Giving Priorities
Guides tithe allocation
Education
Shapes programming and content
Initiative Two
The Tithe
Every jar of MycoNectar™ is made possible by bees. That relationship carries a responsibility, not as a marketing gesture, but as a core operating principle.
ALVARA commits 5% of pre-tax revenue to the STH Collective, directed to the organizations, researchers, and beekeepers doing the most essential work for pollinator vitality on the planet. This isn't a donation. It's a tithe: a structured, ongoing act of reciprocity built into how we operate.
Where the Tithe Flows
Habitat Restoration
Funding the planting of biodiverse native flora that nourishes healthy bee populations
Indigenous Beekeeping Initiatives
Supporting communities who maintain traditional relationships with native bee species
Hive Vitality Research
Contributing to studies on natural immunity, vibrational health, and regenerative practices
Native Pollinator Conservation
Protecting stingless bees and Indigenous species whose wisdom is ancient
Educational Programming
Funding workshops, resources, and documentation of traditional bee knowledge
Sourcing as Stewardship
The tithe is only part of our reciprocity model. We source exclusively from regenerative beekeepers who approach harvest as exchange, not extraction, and who practice methods that enhance rather than deplete hive vitality. Our sourcing partnerships are long-term, direct, and built on fair compensation that honors the true value of this work.
Initiative Three
The Movement
Most people know honey is good for them. Many have heard that bee colonies are in crisis. Very few have been invited into a deeper relationship with the intelligence of the hive: the beauty, the mystery, the science, the wisdom.
That invitation is what STH extends. Through our brand channels (social media, email, website, packaging, and events) we cultivate a community of Stewards: people who understand that the health of the hive and the health of the human are inseparable.
Brand Storytelling
Social content, emails, and labeling that shares bee wisdom, hive intelligence, and the people who tend them
Bee Wisdom Workshops
Free, accessible online learning covering pollinator sanctuaries, traditional beekeeping, honey as vibrational nourishment, and biomimicry
Indigenous Wisdom Documentation
Gathering and sharing the knowledge of traditional bee stewards before it's lost
Ceremonial Gatherings
Bringing community together through bee wisdom circles, regenerative stewardship workshops, and collaborative vision sessions
Consciousness Campaigns
Media and storytelling that shifts the cultural relationship with bees from commodity to reverence
What We Want You to Feel
We don't just want people to understand bees. We want them to feel something. Specifically: awe. The kind of open, receptive state that allows us to be more present, more alive, more connected to the web of life we are part of. Awe is the doorway. Once you truly feel it, deeper wisdom and vitality flow to you naturally.
Bees are frequency beings: sensitive to vibration, responsive to sound, navigating by the sun. So are we. The bee's world is a mirror. When we look closely at the hive, we see something about our own potential for collective intelligence, harmonic living, and regenerative abundance. That recognition is what STH cultivates.
At the Sanctuary
The Bee Haven
At the center of the Sanctuary is a commitment to the bees. We are building a pollinator habitat designed to house the colonies that will produce the raw honey at the foundation of MycoNectar™ and future products. Over time we will open the Sanctuary to other honey companies, beekeepers, and land-based businesses who want to bring regenerative bee stewardship into their own operations.
Stewardship Extends to Packaging
Our Packaging Philosophy
Vitality drawn from the earth should be returned to the earth, not buried in landfills.
That principle shapes every packaging decision we make at ALVARA. We source our materials from manufacturers who engineer real alternatives to conventional plastic, petroleum-based inks, and single-use waste. It costs us more. It takes longer. We do it anyway, because stewardship means making choices that reflect what we actually believe.
Every component of our packaging, from the containers that hold MycoNectar™ to the sachets you carry with you to the boxes they ship in, is selected for environmental integrity, not convenience.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Boxes & Outer Packaging
Recyclable Paper Tubes
Our product boxes are produced by Paper Tube Co. using FSC-certified paper, soy-based inks, and plastic-free construction. Their packaging has passed third-party repulpability testing and is engineered for minimal ecological impact from material sourcing through end of life.
Single-Serve Sachets
Low-Waste PaperBottle®
Our sachets are manufactured by Xela Pack using their PaperBottle® technology: approximately 93% less plastic than conventional packaging of the same size, and 92% less waste by volume after use. Xela Pack facilities run on 100% wind energy with water-soluble inks.
Our Packaging Partners
We chose these partners because they hold themselves to the same standard we hold ourselves: doing the harder thing because it's the right thing.
Partner
Paper Tube Co.
Paper Tube Co. builds sustainable packaging from FSC-certified paper using soy-based inks and plastic-free construction methods. Their tubes and boxes have passed third-party repulpability testing, confirming recyclability. They offer material options ranging from 100% recycled paper to plant-based liners made from sugarcane pulp.
Learn more about Paper Tube Co.Partner
Xela Pack
Xela Pack produces the PaperBottle®, a paper-based sachet format that eliminates the vast majority of plastic found in conventional single-serve packaging. Their sachets use approximately 93% less plastic than standard bottles of the same size, occupy 92% less space after use, and are printed entirely with water-soluble inks. Production is powered by 100% wind energy.
Learn more about Xela PackAn Invitation
Become a Steward of the Hive
When you integrate MycoNectar™ into your life, you enter a system of reciprocity. Your purchase supports regenerative beekeepers working in right relationship with the bees. It funds the organizations on the front lines of pollinator vitality. It sustains the education that draws more people into relationship and stewardship.
And it connects you to a community of humans who understand what the hive has always known:
Harmony emerges from devotion to the whole.
ALVARA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contact us for current program details and giving options.