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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 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.
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.
of the world's flowering plants are pollinated by bees
of global crop production depends on bee pollination
of flowering plant species depend on pollinators to reproduce
of all global food production depends on bees (UN FAO)
of U.S. managed honey bee colonies lost between June 2024 – Feb 2025
UN Sustainable Development Goals that bees are critical to achieving
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.
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.
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.
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.
Funding the planting of biodiverse native flora that nourishes healthy bee populations
Supporting communities who maintain traditional relationships with native bee species
Contributing to studies on natural immunity, vibrational health, and regenerative practices
Protecting stingless bees and Indigenous species whose wisdom is ancient
Funding workshops, resources, and documentation of traditional bee knowledge
The tithe is only part of our reciprocity model. We source exclusively from regenerative beekeepers who approach harvest as exchange, not extraction — those 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.
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.
Social content, emails, and labeling that shares bee wisdom, hive intelligence, and the people who tend them
Free, accessible online learning covering pollinator sanctuaries, traditional beekeeping, honey as vibrational nourishment, and biomimicry
Gathering and sharing the knowledge of traditional bee stewards before it's lost
Bringing community together through bee wisdom circles, regenerative stewardship workshops, and collaborative vision sessions
Media and storytelling that shifts the cultural relationship with bees from commodity to reverence
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.
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.
Our 12 oz MycoNectar jar and included spoon are made from Vernovo®, a patented plant-derived polymer engineered by Blue Standard Inc. Composed entirely of renewable cellulose fibers and plant-based polymers — no petroleum, no BPA, no phthalates. Independent life cycle analysis confirms up to 85% less CO₂ than conventional plastics.
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.
Our sachets are manufactured by Xela Pack using their PaperBottle® technology — approximately 93% less plastic than conventional packaging of the same size, 92% less waste by volume after use. Xela Pack facilities run on 100% wind energy with water-soluble inks.
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.
Blue Standard is the inventor and manufacturer of Vernovo®, a plant-derived, injection-molded material built from cellulose fibers and renewable plant polymers. Vernovo performs like traditional plastic without the environmental cost — zero petroleum, zero BPA, zero phthalates. Backed by three patents, independent university biodegradation testing, and a third-party verified life cycle analysis showing up to 85% CO₂ reduction.
Learn more about Vernovo® →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. →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 Pack →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."