When we offered to participate in Kenya Week at Osaka Expo 2025, we didn’t know the kind of impact we were going to have on the universe at large.
As farmers, we’re always around our crops — attending flower shows and expos all over the world. We’re used to talking about bud sizes, vase life, FCM, and phytos. Hardly would you come across anyone at these shows who wasn’t re-strategizing on how to mitigate the high freight costs from Kenya, just to remain competitive in the global market.
When Rimi Flora partnered with the Government of Kenya and offered to sponsor flowers for Kenya Week, I was preparing myself for yet another updated conversation on market trends — like we always do.
We drove down to the farms and spent days shooting content for the world to get a glimpse of Kenyan floriculture.
My aim was simple: to show people the impact that purchasing just one flower stem can have on Kenyan communities.
To show the love and care that Rimi Flora has — for the environment, and for its people.
We nailed it!!
A few days later, Kenya Week was upon us.
Armed with my years of knowledge, I walked into Osaka Expo 2025 — head held high — ready to represent.
But then I realized something: I had come in with the wrong mindset.
I looked around and was taken aback by an elderly lady in a wheelchair, smiling from ear to ear with a bouquet of flowers in her hands.
Nearby, a group of men and women were showing each other their rose stems — each proudly labeled “Grown in Kenya.”
It hit me.
I wasn’t here to talk about sustainability (though that was part of the Expo’s theme).
I was here to spread love.
To share in this divine moment with the end users of our flowers.
To witness firsthand the joy, the laughter, the slight blushes, and the vibrance sparked by the generosity of Kenyan flower farmers, in collaboration with the Government of Kenya.
Kenya Week wasn’t about us — it was about the people.
The Japanese, Indonesians, Ugandans, Australians, Koreans, Canadians, Saudis, Egyptians, Dutch… just to name a few.
It was a week of appreciation.
A week of spreading love.
My colleagues and I visited the Saudi Arabian Pavilion, drawn in by its grand architecture.
We marveled at every intricate display of their culture.
Later, we met some of their delegates who asked,
“What pavilion are you from?”We replied,
“Kenya Pavilion.”Their eyes lit up.
“You’re the ones giving out flowers! How wonderful of you!”
At that moment, I became a fully pledged Kenyan patriot.
We took photos with our Kenyan beads wrapped around our wrists.
We might just be flower farmers — but in that moment, we were the source of serotonin people didn’t know they needed.
