My partnership with Design4Development.org included a long-lasting collaboration with Integradora Apicola Kanan, an apiculture association in Yucatán, México, composed by five established honey cooperatives (60+ beekeepers) that own Kanan Honey. We worked with interdisciplinary experts led by the Mexico-United States Foundation for the Sciences (FUMEC) to bring Kanan’s world-class Mayan honey directly to the Mexican and international markets. Our design objective is to support the beekeepers with earning fair market value and a living wage for their honey.
The D4D work aimed to support local economic development in rural towns in the Yucatán region of Mexico. Beekeepers had access to training in small business development as well as new beekeeping technologies, all the while continuing their production following the Maya tradition.
I designed Kanan’s main labeling system and collateral materials about the beekeeper’s culture in Yucatán, focusing on Maya heritage and tradition, purity, quality, artisanal qualities, and environmental care. Developing the brand system included field trips, direct interaction with the communities and beekeeper associates, presentation of ideas and prototypes in the field, iteration, and user testing in the United States and Mexico, all in close collaboration with the beekeepers and FUMEC representatives.
KANAN (meaning “to care for” in Yucatec Maya) comes from apiaries on indigenous lands in rural Yucatán—renowned for its environmental quality and clean air. Beekeepers learned the beekeeping practice from their parents and grandparents, who learned it from generations before.
Promotional brochure
Testing activity in Yucatán with Kanan associates
Kanan Honey label on jar
Kanan Honey labels for national and international markets were exhibited at the University of Houston-Downtown Arts Faculty Exhibition 2015
