Josh Dolle was only ten years old when he first became interested in bees. After learning at school about the dire situation faced by bees, as well as the extent to which humanity relied on the tiny pollinators, he had "felt really obligated to do something".
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"I came home crying to Mum, saying 'we're all gonna die. It's not fair. The bees are gonna die'," Josh said.
"Mum said, 'Well, what are you gonna do about?' So I then started researching and built my business from there."
At the age of 11 Josh acquired his own hives, and then, with a bit of help from his family and a lot of guidance and support from fellow bee-keeper Sam Lockwood of Goldfields Honey, his bees quickly began to thrive.
Shortly afterwards, he was producing enough honey to start actually selling it, and the young businessman began joining his dad Terry Dolle of Orange Mountain Wines, at the family's Orange Farmers Market stall.
Two years on, and today Josh's beekeeping enterprise, Mountain Flow Honey, consists of one flow hive, two traditional hives and a whopping 60,000 bees.
The path to business success wasn't without a few hiccups though. Namely, the time Josh got stung by 32 bees at once.
After that "episode" - as Josh called it-, he temporarily questioned if he wanted to keep doing it.
Thankfully, his mentor Sam Lockwood again came to the rescue.
"I made a lot of mistakes... I was like, 'I don't know if I want to continue doing this but he got me back out there," Josh said. "That got me motivated.
"I couldn't of done it without him."
I felt really obligated to do something about [declining bee numbers].
- Josh Dolle
Now when he gets stung, because of the immunity he has built up, he barely even feels it. His passion for bee-keeping has similarly solidified, with his motto being: "Happy bees means more honey".
The proof of that is surely in the pudding, with Mountain Flow Honey currently producing three 60-kg harvests a year.
Even dad, Terry Dolle is taken aback by the success of Mountain Flow Honey.
"He makes more money in honey than I make out of my winery," Mr Dolle said, adding jokingly: "I've created a monster".
As for Josh's plans for the future, the 13-year-old says: "I'll probably do this and eventually I plan to get into quantum mechanics."
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Alana Calvert
Print and digital reporter covering general news in Orange NSW, with specific interest in stories relating to animal welfare, social affairs and issues impacting regional communities. Previously with: Yahoo News Australia, SBS Radio, HuffPost Australia and APN/News Regional Media in south-west Queensland. Our Watch/Walkley Foundation Fellow for 2021. Contact me at: alanacalvert@centralwesterndaily.com.au
Print and digital reporter covering general news in Orange NSW, with specific interest in stories relating to animal welfare, social affairs and issues impacting regional communities. Previously with: Yahoo News Australia, SBS Radio, HuffPost Australia and APN/News Regional Media in south-west Queensland. Our Watch/Walkley Foundation Fellow for 2021. Contact me at: alanacalvert@centralwesterndaily.com.au
