Kicking Bear Apiaries LLC was created in 2012 by Ellen Geisler, who wanted to turn a hobby into a business and use beehives to sweeten the world with honey. She dreams of finding a way to balance farming in Wisconsin while working on international development projects.
Midwesterner: Ellen grew up in rural Wisconsin and largely ignored the beehives at her uncle’s dairy farm. Intent on exploring the world, Ellen moved to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, as a high school exchange student for a year before starting college. She completed a BA in Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies from UW-Madison in 2007.
Globetrotter: Her first job out of college was to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay (2007-2009), which is where she learned the intricacies of beekeeping. Her activities in Paraguay encompassed working with farmers to improve beekeeping skills and honey marketing strategies; organizing a girls youth group; facilitating hands-on cooking classes to take advantage of abundant produce; and teaching environmental art at the elementary school.
Beekeeper’s trade: Upon returning to Wisconsin, she set up four beehives at a friend’s farm in 2011. During the long, cold days of the following winter, she schemed to expand her hobby into a business and expanded to twenty-five hives in the spring of 2012.
Teacher: After working with bees in Paraguay and Wisconsin, Ellen had the opportunity to work in Nigeria for three weeks where she designed and implemented an 8-day intensive training course focused on beehive management, personal safety, and increased honey production for the Kagarko Beekeepers Association.
Life-long learner:
In August 2014, Ellen completed a Masters degree in Forestry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where her research focused on understanding the environmental and economic challenges facing Wisconsin’s timber industry.
Adventurer: Ellen was a Peace Corps Response Beekeeping Specialist in Comoros, an island nation between Madagascar and Mozambique in 2015.
