Sankofa Farms

What Sankofa Farms does

Sankofa Farms LLC is a privately-held, founder-owned agricultural entity headquartered in Efland, North Carolina (Orange County), founded by certified beekeeper and public speaker Kamal Bell. The company operates a regenerative farm and apiary whose stated mission is to create sustainable food sources for minority communities in rural and urban areas of Durham and Orange County, North Carolina — specifically targeting households affected by food deserts. Its offering portfolio is unusually diversified for a sub-10-person farm and combines food production with educational programming: an online shop selling honey and produce, the Sankofa Farms Agricultural Academy (a year-round STEM-based program for youth focused on agricultural skill development and career readiness), the "Bees in the T.R.A.P." (Teaching Responsible Apiary Practices) beekeeping experience, paid farm tours, founder speaking engagements, and the published children's book "Akeem Keeps Bees!" aimed at ages 6–10.

The underlying operational base is a regenerative farm integrated with a certified apiary; Kamal Bell has more than five years of beekeeping experience and is also a doctoral researcher at NC State studying agricultural and educational barriers for young African American men. Distribution is multi-channel: a D2C e-commerce storefront, a retail partnership with regional food cooperative Weaver Street Market, the Airbnb Experiences marketplace for global beekeeping bookings, Amazon for book sales, and a community distribution network that includes Table, The Produce Project, and Farm Fresh to route food to households in need. Marketing relies on YouTube video content, organic social media, and earned media features in Forbes, NPR, Southern Living, News & Observer, and TEDxNCState, supplemented by event-driven visibility through Kamal Bell's speaking engagements.

The business model is a mix of one-time product sales (honey, produce, book), professional services revenue (speaking, Academy programming), and marketplace-driven experience sales (Airbnb). Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and no enterprise contracts, recurring subscriptions, or institutional pricing tiers are referenced. Sankofa Farms has been featured by AT&T and Bayer as a visibility/sponsorship partner and received a $10,000 grant from NC IDEA in May 2021; no other institutional funding is disclosed, and the company operates as a bootstrapped, founder-controlled LLC with 1–10 employees.

Name

Sankofa Farms

Legal name

Sankofa Farms LLC

Website

https://sankofafarms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sankofa Farms is an Efland, North Carolina agricultural entity that runs a regenerative farm and apiary serving food desert communities in Durham and Orange County, complemented by a youth STEM academy, Airbnb beekeeping experiences, founder speaking engagements, and a children's book on pollinators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Agriculture & Agricultural Education

NAICS

Apiculture (112910), Apiculture (11291)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200), Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Beekeeping & Apiculture (EDAOAOAL), Beekeeping Training, Education & Advisory Services (AFAEAHAO), Sustainable/Regenerative Agriculture & Conservation Practices (EDAOAOAO)

Keywords

• Sustainable agriculture
• Beekeeping education
• Agricultural academy
• Food desert solutions
• Apiary experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Efland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Direct sales of agricultural products including honey, vegetables, and farm products through the online shop.
2. Speaking Engagements: Kamal Bell serves as a public speaker on topics including social entrepreneurship, sustainable agriculture, Black farming history, and youth advocacy.
3. Agricultural Academy: Year-round intensive STEM-based educational program for youth focusing on agricultural problems and career readiness.
4. Beekeeping Experiences: Hour and a half apiary experiences teaching basic beekeeping equipment and management techniques through Airbnb Experiences.
5. Book Sales: Children's book 'Akeem Keeps Bees!' written by Kamal Bell, teaching young readers about pollinators and farming.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sankofa Farms is a North Carolina-based regenerative farm that produces and sells honey, fresh produce, and farm products through its online shop, while operating the Sankofa Farms Agricultural Academy, a year-round STEM-based youth education program. The business also delivers certified beekeeping experiences under the "Bees in the T.R.A.P." (Teaching Responsible Apiary Practices) brand through the Airbnb Experiences platform, conducts educational farm tours, sells the children's book "Akeem Keeps Bees!" on Amazon, and offers paid speaking engagements led by founder Kamal Bell.

Product overview

Sankofa Farms is a multifaceted agricultural entity operating as a unified offering portfolio centered on sustainable food production and education. The core offerings include the Agricultural Academy (STEM-based youth education program), Bees in the T.R.A.P. (beekeeping experiences), farm tours, and speaking engagements by founder Kamal Bell. Supporting products include honey harvested from their apiaries, fresh produce for food desert communities, and the children's book "Akeem Keeps Bees!" This portfolio works together to address food deserts while providing agricultural education and youth empowerment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sankofa Farms Agricultural Academy A year-round intensive STEM-based program that educates students on existing problems within agriculture, aiming to improve perception of STEM professions, increase earnings, improve career readiness skills, and improve school performance for attendees.
• Bees in the T.R.A.P. (Teaching Responsible Apiary Practices) A 1.5-hour certified beekeeping experience where participants learn about basic equipment needed to keep bees and management techniques, led by certified beekeeper Kamal Bell who has been keeping bees for over five years. Booked through the Airbnb Experiences platform.
• Farm Tours Educational farm tours provided for colleges and organizations to see regenerative agriculture and beekeeping operations firsthand at the Efland, NC farm.
• Speaking Engagements Public speaking services delivered by founder Kamal Bell covering topics including Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Agriculture, the State of Black Farming, and Youth Advocacy, booked for corporate events, conferences, universities, and organizations.
• Akeem Keeps Bees! A children's book (ages 6-10) written by Kamal Bell following a year-long journey of beekeeping alongside his son Akeem, teaching young readers about pollinators and the food system.
• Honey Products Honey harvested from the farm's apiary operations, available for purchase through the Sankofa Farms online shop and through retail partners such as Weaver Street Market.
• Sustainable Food Products Fresh produce and sustainably grown food sources from the farm, sold through the online shop and distributed to food desert communities in Durham and Orange County, North Carolina.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Weaver Street MarketcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWeaver Street Market is a local food cooperative that sells Sankofa Farms products at their retail locations, serving as a key distribution channel for farm products to consumers in the North Carolina region.
• TablecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTable is a community partner organization that works with Sankofa Farms to distribute food from farms to tables of community members in need.
• AT&TflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAT&T collaboration helping connect Kamal Bell and small business owners with their dreams, providing support and visibility for Sankofa Farms' mission in underserved communities.
• BayerflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBayer has collaborated with Sankofa Farms, supporting the farm's mission and agricultural education initiatives.
• Farm FreshminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFarm Fresh (Local/Home) has collaborated with Sankofa Farms for community-based food distribution.
• The Produce ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Produce Project is listed as a partner organization working with Sankofa Farms to take food from farms to tables of people who need it most.
• Airbnb ExperiencescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBeekeeping experiences (Bees in the T.R.A.P.) are offered through Airbnb Experiences platform, allowing visitors to book apiary education sessions at the farm.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Soul Fire Farm: BIPOC-led sustainable farm in upstate New York running food-justice programs, youth education, and farmer training. Directly comparable mission, demographic focus, and operating model to Sankofa Farms.
• D-Town Farm (Detroit Black Community Food Security Network): Detroit-based Black-led urban farm and food security network producing vegetables and running youth programming for food-desert communities. Closest geographic and demographic analogue to Sankofa's food-access and youth-development work.
• Rise & Root Farm: Black, Brown, and queer farmer cooperative operating a working farm combined with training and food-justice programming. Comparable social-enterprise farm model with educational programming for historically excluded communities.
• Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA): Minnesota-based association supporting Hmong farmers via training, land access, and cooperative distribution. Comparable social-enterprise farm model with a focus on underserved minority communities and producer education.

Others

• Black Farmer Fund: Nonprofit community investment fund supporting Black farmers across the Northeast through grants and capital. Adjacent ecosystem participant addressing capital gaps for Black agricultural producers — comparable target beneficiary population to Sankofa.

Broad incumbents

• The Food Trust: Large established Philadelphia-based nonprofit addressing food access, nutrition education, and healthy food retail across multiple states. Operates broader food-desert programming that overlaps with Sankofa's mission at greater scale.

Emerging players

• City Growers: NYC-based nonprofit running farm-based STEM and environmental education for youth, including beekeeping and urban agriculture programming. Partial overlap with Sankofa's Agricultural Academy and TRAP apiary education products.
• Three Sisters Gardens (Sacramento): Community-based urban agriculture program focused on food access, youth training, and regenerative practices in underserved Sacramento neighborhoods. Comparable mission and operating model at a smaller geographic scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC
• Instagraminstagram.com/sankofafarms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sankofa-farms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sankofa Farms