mattersmagazine.com 29 In an old house in South Orange, surrounded by trees, live a woman, her family and five hives filled with… bees. This is a story about bees, honey and soap, but also one of courage, hope and healing. It is about Adriana Compagnoni, computer scientist, college professor at Stevens Institute in Hoboken, backyard beekeeper and the owner of South Mountain Honey – and a two-time cancer survivor. A trip to Italy in 2011 provided the inspiration for the 2012 acquisition of two beehives that have since grown to five, containing bees from Italy and Russia respectively. What began as a “fun family hobby” quickly became a source of inspiration for Compagnoni, satisfying her need “to keep myself from going crazy after my cancer treatments.” In an effort to conquer her post-cancer depression (which was untreatable with medication Busy Bee When science, bees and honey lead to health and holistic healing BY DOREEN CHILA JONES due to allergies), Compagnoni combined her extensive knowledge of computer science and nature to achieve what doctors could not: mental health. She immersed herself in the creation of chemical-free products from her backyard beehives by bottling honey and using the beeswax remaining from each harvest for soap. This led to the birth of South Mountain Honey. At first, unsure how to market her products, she postedherhoneyforsaleontheFacebookSOMASwappage andreceived47ordersinthreedays.Shewasoff andrunning. From there, in an attempt to rid herself and her family from exposure to harmful chemicals, Compagnoni created her own line of cosmetics made from the same bee by-products. When first marketing her products, she says, “I noticed that the first thing people do when they examine my products is smell them.” Kimaya Kama 168 Maplewood Avenue Maplewood Village 973.762.2385 www.Kimaya.com Holiday Hours November 26th to December 24th Monday to Wednesday 10am to 6pm Thursday to Saturday 10am to 7pm Sunday 10am to 5pm Free Gift Wrapping For every scarf you buy we donate one to the cancer patients at Saint Barnabas Medical Center