The Elephant and the Bee

On saving the world and other triumphant failures... As a child, young Kenyan Jess de Boer knew that one day she would save the world. Leaving behind the comfort of home she sets out to make her dream a reality. Many continents, adventures and a few hilarious mishaps later, Jess returns to Africa to dedicate herself to a new passion - beekeeping. Follow the beautifully illustrated misadventures of a young, modern-day explorer as she tackles the enormous challenges of aid in Africa, environmental concerns and conservation issues - often with humorous and dramatic results. While saving the world isn't as easy as it seems, we can make a positive change, one little bee at a time!

“"Within the serious message that Jess wants to convey about man's destruction of the planet, there are moments of utter hilarity. This juxtaposition is enthralling and leads the reader on page by page and chapter by chapter, always wondering how the title of the book will eventually fit into the content. I found Jess's narration endearing and informative in equal measure and would highly recommend this book to others... It is so accessible and manages to cover some really important environmental issues." Natalie Pither, St George's Library Blog”

This is a story we can all relate with. What will we do with our life? Do we have to follow a path we build in our head for many years or will we just go with the flow? From Africa to Switzerland, with a quick detour to Vietnam, Jess brings us in her peregrination and her mental journey of "What can I do with my life?". Is following your principles enough? How can a simple detail (in this case, an advert for beekeeping classes) change the course of your life - and others? This was a truly fun and inspiring book. You'll finish it full of hope and motivation to engage in something (or someone) new and unusual. Marion Tessier, The KU Big Read

If I had seen this book in the bookstore and it had been sealed with only the cover for reference, I would still pick it up. Its title 'The Elephant and the Bee, Jess de Boer On Saving The World and other triumphant failures' had me chuckling even before I had read the preface. That sets the pace of the book, which gives an honest account of the author's incredible journey of trying to find her purpose and like most of us attempting to actually do 'something good for once as opposed to just thinking about it.'
Jess's story begins right after high school and she shares a collection of stories, spanning several years and different continents that gives the reader a peek into her personal defeats and success in her bid to save the world. What makes this book a real page turner, are the Kenyan author's clever descriptions of all the places she has been. There is the hilarious description of a café she worked at in Christchurch, New Zealand, 'The building itself had only just survived the earlier tremors and was held together with suspicious amount of wire, duct tape and cable ties...' And then her realisation that the mountains wilderness that she had longed to see in Lao Cai in China, 'was in reality a never-ending row of scruffy hotels and eateries on either side of a road...'
Throughout the whole book, I felt like I was listening to a story told by a friend over coffee and even the ending is not really an ending but the possibility of something new. As Jess surmises, 'While saving the world isn't easy as it seems, we can make a positive change, one little bee at a time.' What a beautiful read.

Brenda Okoth, The Sunday

Jess de Boer is a farmer, beekeeper and lifelong student of the soil.

A Kenyan citizen of Dutch descent born and raised in Nairobi, Jess has spent the last decade working across the East and Horn of Africa in the Regenerative Agriculture space.

Jess retains a focus on facilitating the mainstream adoption of integrated land use practices across both tropical and dry-land (ASAL) landscapes and is committed to shaping the development of a regenerative African story - making farming cool again.

In 2014, she won the Africa Book Club Short Reads competition with her story 'The Honey Man'. In 2016, her debut book The Elephant and the Bee was published by Jacaranda Books. Sister Nature is her second book.

Jess De Boer's unique story tracks her transition from privileged white African to nomadic world traveller. Funny and extremely well written, this book follows Jess' bizarre and hilarious experiences on her travels, until a strange sequence of events takes her, broken and lost, back to Africa.

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