Oserian - Innovation

Innovation

The future may be unknown, but one thing is for sure: we’ll continue to farm in the most natural and sustainable way possible. Innovation is at the forefront of this, both in terms of what we’ve already achieved and what we hope to do.

We’re proud of our ‘firsts’

We were the first flower farm in Africa to receive Fairtrade accreditation and the first to receive recognition from Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF), a UK-based organization that promotes sustainable farming.

We were also the first flower farm in Kenya to be commended by the Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA) for the way we manage and reuse water.

Oserian is home to the largest geothermal heating project in the world.

We use the earth’s heat instead of fossil fuels to warm our greenhouses. Spread across more than 120 acres of land, this geothermal heating gives us constant temperatures, reduces humidity to below 85% and prevents diseases like downy mildew, so we don’t need to use fungicide sprays.

The by-product of geothermal energy is CO2, which our flowers need to grow, happily reducing our carbon footprint. In fact, Cranfield University confirmed that, even when taking into account airfreighting, the CO2 footprint of each of our roses is one sixth of that of a rose grown in Europe.

That’s not to say we won’t do more. We’re exploring the possibility of becoming carbon sub-zero, which means we could help reduce the global carbon output.

We’re harnessing nature wherever we can

Everything we’ve done so far has given us a huge amount of understanding about seeds and the growing process. Going forward, we’re looking at how we can help local farmers increase their yields to meet the demands of a growing Kenyan and African population.

We’re also considering developing an aquaculture business to grow and harvest plants and animals – fish and shellfish – from our rivers and lakes. Watch this space!

You’ll also find information about us whenever you order our bouquets – look out for our Flori 4 Life tags, which will give you even more insight into the work we’re doing around water management, supporting schools and looking after nature.