The range of flowers grown in Colombia is not only very diverse but growing them also has a positive social and environmental impact. The country's flower acreage is 10,000 ha, which not only means a lot of stems but also many jobs. The sector offers 200,000 formal jobs of which 110,000 are direct, with women representing more than half. The flowers are grown under strict methods that respect nature and the environment and increasingly more investments are made to increase and improve sustainability.
Good examples that show this diversity of the flowers of Colombia, as well as the social and environmental efforts, are Riofrio Bouquets and Rosamina which we visited yesterday, during the week of the Proflora trade show, which is taking place from October 4-6 in Bogota. Below is just a small impression of what they do and later more on the company and their processes on FloralDaily.
Riofrio Bouquets
Riofrio is a bouquet maker and employs 800 people and during the holiday seasons, like Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, 1,400 people. They send 290 million stems a year to the US and not only within the facility but also on social and environmental level they have been and are still making big steps. They for example recycle their plastic, calculate the water use of each flower, send back their unused flowers to the farms to compost, and are planning to install solar panels.On the social side, they are taking care of their employees (and even the dogs that are around at the facility) in several ways. They even have been awarded by the municipality of Tocancipa as the number one generator of employment in the area. On top of that, they support students, internally and externally financially, organize capacity programs for disabled people, and much more.
Clockwise: Group of employees, employees stretching in the morning, on the back of the jackets from the workers it says 'Manos que transformen', which means hands that make the transformation, and last but not least the dog houses. (Click here to enlarge the picture)
Rosamina
Eli Perez showing the proteas in the field
Also at Rosamina, where they grow proteas and foliage on 50ha, for 52 weeks a year, and make bouquets and arrangements also with third-party products, the social and environmental aspects are a crucial part of their business. They, for example, harvest rainwater, are increasing their use of biocontrols, are Rainforest Alliance certified, and are planning to install solar panels to become self-sufficient in energy use. On the social level, their employees are part of the family and are encouraged and financially supported to go to college. "In the past, we had buses picking up our colleagues, now we have to expand our parking lot for their cars", Eli Perez proudly says.
Clockwise: From the field to the bouquet making till the vase. (Click here to enlarge the picture)
For more information
Riofrio Bouquets
agroindustriasdelriofrio.com
Rosamina
rosamina.com