The Wing Wing Bee Restaurant is a climate crisis response business model that grows perilla seeds to protect bees that are disappearing due to the climate crisis.
"Wing Wing Bee Restaurant Open Guide" - Energy Transition and Oil Social Cooperative
This is an activity of farming perilla with care for the bees. Generally, perilla is grown as seedlings in June, planted in the ground in July, and cultivation begins. In August, perilla leaves grow lushly, and in September, flowers bloom and fall, and when the fruit ripens, perilla is harvested in October. Since pesticides are not used, we pull out weeds and catch bugs ourselves, and take care of the perilla fields for about 5 months while the perilla grows. The harvested perilla is processed into perilla oil in a manufacturing facility.
Let's form a team to grow perilla seeds
It is recommended to have 3-5 people including those with experience in perilla farming. You must be able to own or rent a field and farm it. Farming can be done by a team or individually, but sharing experiences or helping each other will be a great help in farming without using pesticides. It is important to understand and start the project's purpose for protecting the ecosystem, such as bees disappearing due to climate crisis, water quality, and soil, and for coexistence of small farmers.
It is also important to protect and grow native perilla seeds. Farmers have protected seeds that they would not eat even if they were starving, but now native seeds account for less than 1% of all agricultural products. If you have seeds that have been passed down for generations in your family or region, use them. There are varieties that the Rural Development Administration is developing and distributing, so you can find out about them and use them.
Sowing means sowing seeds. Sow directly in the field or sow in trays, grow them into young plants, and then transplant them into the field. Young plants that grow into seedlings are called seedlings, and depending on the spacing between seedlings and the way the ridges are arranged, if the field is about 100 pyeong, you can plant about 2,000 perilla seedlings. The amount of farming will vary depending on the number of participants and the size of the field.
Since the field needs to be tended to frequently while the perilla grows, an environment that is easy to participate in is good. Considering the location and area of the field, the distance and time to travel, etc., it is advantageous to form a team in one village and cultivate perilla in a nearby area. In addition, it is necessary to consider activities such as recognizing and observing the feeding activities of bees when perilla flowers bloom, recording them, and sharing them.
Before starting the project, visit the Miho-dong Net Zero Auction House. It will be a chance to see the Wing Wing Bee Restaurant in person and experience its purpose and experience vividly. You can taste and purchase perilla seeds and raw perilla oil grown directly in Miho-dong. The energy conversion village of Miho-dong awaits you.
Check at the team composition stage
Let's start farming perilla seeds
Typically, seedlings are grown from perilla seeds in June, planted in the ground in July, and cultivation begins. In August, perilla leaves grow lushly, and in September, flowers bloom and fall, and when the fruit ripens, perilla is harvested in October. Farmers work diligently for the bees during the five months or so that perilla grows.
You can sow directly in the field, grow seedlings and transplant them, or you can buy seedlings. The Wing Wing Bee Restaurant in Miho-dong sows and grows seedlings together with small farmers. While the young seedlings grow, in fields without shade from trees, they build mini-houses and cover them with sunshades to make them less hot. Fertilize the field once during the 20 days or so that the seedlings grow, and prepare for planting by making ridges. At this time, try using compound fertilizer or compost instead of chemical fertilizer.
Let's also make a small sign that can symbolize the Buzzing Bee Restaurant. The restaurant where bees line up becomes even more special. If you make it with CXP material that is mainly made of wood byproducts, you can make an eco-friendly sign without using plastic.
※ CXP: Cellulose X-linked Polymer. A thermoplastic wood material that replaces plastic and synthetic wood by being made of wood as the main ingredient and through self-bonding of cellulose.
In early July, perilla seedlings are transplanted to the field. Since it is the beginning of the rainy season, we also pay attention to raising the ridges and making drainage ditches in the middle of the ridges to improve water drainage. Since we do not use pesticides, perilla leaf beetles will appear, eating all the leaves. We prune to allow more branches and flowers to grow from the original branches, and we also catch bugs as we prune. If you make a makgeolli trap and place it in the field, it is so effective that perilla leaf beetles, flies, moths, and wasps will enter. We also use plate traps sold on the market.
Making a Makgeolli Trap
The speed at which weeds grow cannot be controlled by weeding, but weed them out by hand instead of using pesticides. If you are good at weeding, you can carefully weed around the ridges so as not to damage the perilla. By the end of July, the perilla leaves will grow as big as the palm of your hand, and they will gradually grow taller and have a strong perilla scent. Some perilla plants do not grow well, but this is not due to pests, but rather because the soil is not suitable or the roots have not settled in. In the hot summer, you should water diligently and be careful not to get tired as a farmer.
Welcome the bees
Perilla flowers start to bloom in early September and are in full bloom by the end of September, attracting many bees. Buzz, buzz, buzz, the sound of the bees' wings gets louder. Observe the bees' foraging activities and record them with photos and videos. It will be more effective if there is an apiary within 3km. Bees obtain honey and pollen from nectar plants. Types of nectar plants include woody plants such as cherry trees, acacia trees, chestnut trees, and Chinese juniper trees, and herbaceous plants such as azaleas, rose hips, thistles, and perilla. If you grow a variety of nectar plants according to the season, you can provide food for bees all year round. In particular, nectar plants in the fall are an important food source for bees preparing for winter.
The reason why bees are disappearing is mainly due to viruses, pesticides, wasps, etc., and recently climate change is a major cause. Unlike the average temperature, the weather changes, causing the flowering period of flowers to change and preventing bees from leaving the hive. When the concentration of fine dust is high, the bees return to the hive later and die because they cannot return in time. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving carbon neutrality is not only a response to the climate crisis and improving air quality, but also contributing to protecting bees and ecological functions. Contact Energy Transition Haeyu and join us to learn how to practice carbon neutrality in yourself, your community, your town, and your region.
Harvest perilla seeds
In October, the perilla flowers will soon fall and the seeds will ripen. The stems and leaves will turn yellow and the seeds will turn brown and hard, and then the perilla seeds will be picked. The base of the stems will be cut off, laid on one side, and then completely dried over several days before the seeds are removed. The traditional method of threshing or using a stick can be used. The average perilla yield is known to be 150-200 kg for native perilla and 200-300 kg for improved varieties, based on about 300 pyeong. We use native perilla seeds whenever possible and do not use pesticides, so the yield may be a little lower.
The sesame seeds you have carefully cultivated are reborn as the 'RE100 Buzzing Bee Mill Raw Perilla Oil' product. Send the harvested sesame seeds to Miho-dong Net Zero Auction Center. You can receive it as healthy oil that has been roasted once at a low temperature. If you roast it a lot at a high temperature, the savory taste and aroma will be stronger, but you cannot avoid the loss of nutrients that are good for the body and the level 1 carcinogen benzopyrene. Raw sesame oil is pressed once using a 45-degree cold pressing method, and it contains about 60% of essential fatty acid plant-based omega-3. 250ml of oil is obtained from 1kg of sesame seeds, but only healthy ingredients are included in this small amount of oil.
The manufacturing facility that makes perilla oil has many certifications including HACCP, vegan, and halal, and is operated by a social enterprise established to work with indigenous seeds, the environment, farmers, and the region. It also produces RE100 products through renewable energy certificate trading. However, if residual pesticides are detected in perilla seeds, they will not be used in the production of perilla oil.
※ RE100: Abbreviation for Renewable Energy 100, a global renewable energy campaign that uses 100% renewable energy for the electricity required for product production.
Spread the buzzing bee restaurant
As mentioned earlier, if you plant various nectar plants, which are flowers and trees that bees feed on, according to the flowering time, bees can secure nutrients all year round. Be interested in various nectar plants, expand the area where nectar plants are grown, and try not to use pesticides. There may also be plants that can be used, such as perilla and perilla oil.
New changes and innovations happen when we practice continuously and repeatedly. The Buzzing Bee Restaurant goes beyond recognizing the importance and relationship between the climate crisis and bees to expanding the producers who work to improve agriculture, and the consumers who choose valuable local food and participants. Please share your activities to help more Buzzing Bee Restaurants open.
The Buzzing Bee Restaurant is
Bees disappearing due to climate crisis
A person who can grow perilla seeds
People interested in K-food and sesame oil
People interested in renewable energy and RE100
This activity is for all businesses, government agencies, and citizens who want to participate in climate crisis response.
※ Project budget (draft)
