Sandira Belia

Born to a beekeeper mother in Brittany, I was immersed in the song of the bees from childhood. Unconventional by nature, I have spent many years travelling, encountering extreme cultures and landscapes.
These peregrinations led me to develop subtle modes of communication with different types of consciousnesses such as the Devas and other guardians of the Earth.

Since my arrival in Portugal, I have lived for 5 years in the community of Tamera (Healing Biotope and Peace Research Centre) where my journey with the bees started, and then 5 years with my friend and colleague Annelieke in the same area, where the Bee Wisdom network was born.

Now I am anchored and landing in central Portugal, where I am about to welcome bees again.

My first book was published in French in 2020 by Le Souffle d’Or, and in English in 2021 by Northern Bee Books. Amply illustrated with my paintings and drawings, the book is called The Deva of the Bees, and it touches the hearts of thousands of readers around the world.

Annelieke van der Sluijs

In 2009, I invited a beekeeper to bring bees to our community garden in Coimbra, Central Portugal. The bees filled the air with “something” that made my heart sing and enlivened the space. My fascination for this “something” brought me to Alentejo, where my first BeeShip with Sandira, in 2017, naturally evolved into a collaboration and a living together with the bees.

I take care of the bees in the Alentejo BeeGrid, plant and sow forest habitat, and thrive as a “weaver” in the BeeWisdom network, endlessly inspired by the artful communion of bees as a colony and with the landscape.