‘There’s promise in this’ Serving time for a drug offense, Corrie Foutz said she loves nature and visiting farmers markets. “I was always interested in agriculture,” she said. “I’m not afraid of bugs and just thought the program would be fun.” Working outside with the honeybees, Foutz said, is a mindful activity that keeps her focused on something other than life in prison. “Working with the bees, I don’t think of anything else. There’s no drama, it’s just the bees,” she said. “It is giving me hope, like maybe there can be more to life. I really, really want to complete this program and see where it takes me. I think that there’s promise in this.” By participating in the program, Foutz said, she hopes to stay sober for good. “I’m hoping through the reentry program, I’m getting some tools to make it stick because I don’t want to use anymore. I desperately want to never, ever be in this place again,” she said. Inmates learn different aspects of commercial beekeeping, which in California is a $25 million business, according to a 2021-22 crop report by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Commercial beekeepers contract with farmers, who use bees to pollinate or set the crop, such as in almond orchards. Beekeepers also extract honey from the hive that is bottled and sold to consumers, and they raise queen bees, which are sold to fellow beekeepers to build new hives. “If they want to pursue beekeeping as an occupation, it’s almost automatic that they can get a job,” Hays said. “It’s definitely a foot in the door.” New skills and a fresh start The program, which has educated 24 inmates since it began, also discusses the trials of beekeeping that many beekeepers face, such as drought or other factors that reduce the season’s honey crop or lead to bee losses. “Because of the last three years of droughts and bees competing for flowers and food sources, it’s been difficult for us to produce a lot of wildflower honey,” Hays said. “During the last three years, we’ve produced about 80 one-pound bottles of honey. Whenever we have a large surplus, we use it in our kitchen or as a sweetener for the jail’s vocational barista program. If there is a greater surplus, we donate it to the local food bank.” Thompson, who also participates in the jail’s vocational barista program, said, “We make a honey latte, which is basically a shot of 2 ounces of espresso and then we melt it into the honey and it infuses together really well, plus a little steam and milk.” For inmates, the beekeeping program offers more than a window into the world of an intriguing insect. The course, which offers a certificate upon completion, Hays said,
Using honey produced through the jail’s Second Change Beekeeping program, right, inmate Denaysia Thompson, above,
sweetens beverages at the facility’s vocational
barista program. At far right, Thompson, Missy Peavey and Corrie Foutz join instructor Steve Hays in the bee yard.
teaches professionalism in the workplace, public speaking and tips for a successful job interview. “I try to teach them confidence. A lot of them lack basic confidence and this carries over into beekeeping because if you’re nervous, the bees can sense it and they’re going to be more upset,” Hays said. Missy Peavey, who served time for a stolen vehicle charge, was among the program’s first participants. She said she enjoyed the program because “I’m not looked at as a criminal. I’m looked at as a human and I’m still capable of learning. I’m still capable of being brought into the community and being OK. “Even though I’ve messed up and I made a wrong choice, I’m still able to have an opportunity to try to pull back out of that situation. It’s a whole new, fresh start,” said Peavey, who said she took interest in the program to reconnect with her family members, who are in the beekeeping business. “I got back into contact with my dad and now I help with the family business.”
Christine Souza csouza@californiabountiful.com
14
July/August 2023
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