Human Flower Project

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Transport Globally, Erupt Locally

Iceland’s volcano has sent a blast through the cut flower trade, disrupting not just flights but employment and festivity.

Workers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya, prepare flowers for export.

Photo: BBC

On Friday, trucks bringing flowers to export from Kenya’s main international airport were being turned away. The cold storage facilities were already cram-packed. Ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano had drifted into European airspace, detaining both human and floral travelers.

“According to the Kenya Flower Council, 97% of all Kenya’s flower exports are sent to the European Union.”

The head of Kenya’s flower council, Jane Ngige, told the BBC that growers were losing $1.5 to $2 million per day. “We have to continue harvesting the flowers,” said Ngige. Even if blooms do make it out in the next several days, Ngige says, she’s concerned they won’t be salable. People can snooze in airports and survive on Lance crackers, for awhile anyway. Cut flowers aren’t so resilient.

Flights out of Europe have been cancelled, too, meaning that acres of blooms are stalled in the Netherlands.  Yvonne Tang, a florist in Toronto who relies on weekly shipments from Holland, has been calling suppliers in South America to fill her many orders for “Administrative Professional’s Day” (a.k.a. Secretaries Day).

The flower trade, long gone global, answers an old philosophical question. If a volcano erupts in Iceland, will a receptionist frown in Toronto and a factory worker go without pay in the Rift Valley?  Yes and yes.