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Making a Coiled-Straw Bee Skep — The Traditional Beehive Before Wooden Boxes
Karen

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Karen

2. Nyakanga 2026SE
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Making a Coiled-Straw Bee Skep — The Traditional Beehive Before Wooden Boxes

The bee skep is the coiled-straw beehive that housed honeybees across Europe for roughly two thousand years, from antiquity into the 1800s, before wooden box hives replaced it. Using the same coiling technique as a straw basket, long rye straw is wound into a dome and stitched together with split cane. This blueprint builds a traditional skep by hand — from preparing the straw to the finished, weatherproofed hive ready to house a swarm.
Hagati
8

Amabwiriza

1

Harvest and clean long rye straw

Cut long rye or wheat straw and strip off the seed heads and leaf sheaths, keeping the hollow stems long and unbroken for strong coils.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Rye StrawRye Straw1 umuzingo

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

KnifeKnife
2

Split and soak the binding cane

Split lengths of cane into thin flexible strips and soak them in water until pliable — these will sew the straw coils together.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Split CaneSplit Cane1 umuzingo
WaterWater3 litiro

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

KnifeKnife
3

Make the girth gauge

Form a small open ring about 2.5 cm across (the traditional 'girth', often a cow-horn tip). Straw fed through it keeps every coil the same thickness.

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

Skep Girth GaugeSkep Girth Gauge
4

Bind the crown

Take a small handful of straw, bend it into a tight knot to form the top knob of the skep, and lash it firmly with a strip of split cane.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Rye StrawRye Straw1 umuzingo
Split CaneSplit Cane1 metero

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

AwlAwl
5

Feed straw into an even rope

Pass straw through the girth to form a continuous rope of even thickness, adding a few stems at a time so the bundle never thins as you work.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Rye StrawRye Straw1 umuzingo

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

Skep Girth GaugeSkep Girth Gauge
6

Sew the first coils to the crown

Coil the straw rope in a tight spiral around the crown. Push the awl through the coil below, pass split cane through, and pull each stitch snug about every 2 cm.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Split CaneSplit Cane1 metero

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

AwlAwl
7

Spiral outward to start the dome

Continue spiralling outward from the crown, binding each new coil to the one below. The domed top of the hive begins to take shape.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Rye StrawRye Straw1 umuzingo
Split CaneSplit Cane1 metero

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

AwlAwl
8

Build the domed wall downward

Work the spiral down and out to build the wall, keeping the girth on the rope to hold thickness and every binding stitch tight and evenly spaced.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Rye StrawRye Straw1 umuzingo
Split CaneSplit Cane1 metero

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

AwlAwl
Skep Girth GaugeSkep Girth Gauge
9

Keep the courses even

Control how far each coil steps outward so the dome stays smooth and symmetrical. Steady, even courses make a strong, weathertight hive.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Rye StrawRye Straw1 umuzingo

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

AwlAwl
10

Widen to the finished base

As you near the bottom, let the coils reach the finished diameter of about 35–40 cm — the standard size for a colony of bees.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Rye StrawRye Straw1 umuzingo
Split CaneSplit Cane1 metero

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

AwlAwl
11

Cut the flight entrance

At the lower edge, cut a small entrance notch in a coil so the bees can come and go once the skep is set open-side down.

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

KnifeKnife
12

Finish and lock the base coil

Complete the last coil at the base, taper off the straw rope, and lock the final binding stitches so the skep cannot unravel.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Split CaneSplit Cane1 metero

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

AwlAwl
13

Trim the skep clean

Trim protruding straw ends and stray cane with the knife to leave a clean rim and an even outer surface.

Ibikoresho bikenewe:

KnifeKnife
14

Clom the outside for weatherproofing

Smear a thin coat of cow-dung-and-clay daub over the straw to shed rain and seal drafts, then let it dry — the traditional 'clomming'.

Ibikoresho by'iyi ntambwe:

Cow DungCow Dung2 kg
Ball ClayBall Clay1 kg
15

Cure the finished skep

Cure the skep in a dry, airy place. Once fully dry it is ready to hive a swarm — set open-side down on a board or stand.

Ibikoresho

7

Ibikoresho bikenewe

3

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