Earlier this year I had conversations with a handful of people who either keep bees in Kenyan top bar hives (KTBH), or are planning to do so. 

This got me reminiscing about my initiation to beekeeping - my wife and I spent our first three years using KTBHs in our apiary, mainly because we were on a tight budget and liked the idea of affordably building our own equipment. While top bar hives (there are various types) definitely should not be the first choice for everyone, they do have a few unique features that can be advantageous in some situations. Kenyan top bar hives can be a great way to keep bees for many people, or just an interesting change of pace for conventional beekeepers who want to experiment with something a little different.

According to Wikipedia, “The hive commonly referred to as the Kenyan top-ba