Oursabeille is excited to present the face of our first collection, Meli, the lovable Melipona bee.

 

The Melipona bee (melipona beecheei) is a rare, stingless bee native to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and some parts of Brazil. It’s most famous for providing honey for the Maya more than 3 millennia ago. they are very small and nest in hollowed-out trees. Their honey is also packed with healing properties that can help treat various ailments including wound care; oral health (because it has been shown to contain vitamin B12); prevention/treatment of gastric ulcers due its high MEL sip strength content - this helps break down food better when eaten orally. It can also help treat acne, and  even aid with symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis. Unfortunately this has not been enough to help them thrive in a world full of humans. The beekeeping industry in Yucatan is one of the few mechanisms keeping the Melipona around today, although it has been suffering for many years due to a decreasing population of bees. This situation has put pressure on the remaining keepers who carry the ancient practice of cultivating Melipona honey. This has led them to over harvest just to make ends meet, which has made the situation even harder on the bees.

 

For this reason  Oursabeille pledges 5% of its profits to organizations that work towards preserving native bees, such as Meli.