Bee Therapy in Ida-Virumaa: A Sonda Woman Discovered Healing Power After a Car Accident

Julia Volkova keeps bees in Sonda, Ida-Virumaa, and offers bee therapy, which she turned to following a car accident years ago. Spending the night in a beehive house allegedly restores both body and mind, and people travel from far away to visit. It is an unusual, yet increasingly popular form of nature therapy.

In a small village of Sonda in Ida-Virumaa lives a woman whose life was changed by a car accident – and whose new profession turns to bees. Julia Volkova took up bee therapy after a traffic accident caused her serious trauma. Alongside conventional treatment methods, she found relief in the hum of bees and the world of beekeeping.

Bees Became a Cure

Bee therapy, or apitherapy, encompasses various methods – bee venom injections, treatment with honey, and increasingly, simply staying in a beehive house and listening to the bees' humming. Volkova offers visitors the opportunity to spend the night near a hive, where the vibration and sound of bees surround a person throughout the night. According to her, visitors leave in the morning feeling as though they have been reborn.

Sonda is a small settlement, but Volkova's bee therapy attracts people from further afield. Interest is strong both within Estonia and from neighbouring countries – people seek a nature-based alternative to conventional ways of managing stress and chronic pain relief. The hum of bees has a calming effect, and research has shown that it can improve sleep quality and reduce anxiety.

Family Work in Beekeeping

Volkova is involved in beekeeping together with her family, making it a family enterprise. The home yard is both a workplace and a healing centre. In addition to therapeutic opportunities, the bees provide traditional honey and other beekeeping products. This combination of everyday beekeeping and therapy makes Sonda's apiary unique in Ida-Virumaa.