Ig - The Urban Beekeeper Association and the Slovenian Prison Administration started a project this spring at the open ward of the prison in Ig as part of which inmates are being taught all about beekeeping. The project dubbed Honey Cell is a part of the European project Food Systems in European Cities (FoodE).

In the garden of the prison in Ig, a detached ward of the prison in Ljubljana, beehives have been installed this year, where inmates are learning all about beekeeping with the support of mentors.

After the initial theoretical training and honeycomb preparation, the project now includes work with hives and colonies, honey pouring and finally receiving the apprentice beekeeper certificate.

In the autumn-winter period, when the bees are dormant, the convicts will be involved in efforts to feed the bees and eliminate bee diseases, the prison administration says on its website.

The project is part of the wider European FoodE project, one of 15 pilot projects in 12 European cities, and will run until the end of 2023.

Before the start of the project, the Urban Beekeeper Association and the Ljubljana Faculty of Design had designed hive bases for the project and prepared proposals for decorating them. The hives were then painted by the prisoners themselves.