Most of you probably don't know (I didn't) that Ecuador is one of the world's largest exporters of fresh cut flowers. We had the opportunity to visit a working rose farm just down the road from our Hacienda. A bonus was the amazing view of Cayambe Volcano, Ecuador's third highest mountain from the farm. That means we have now seen the first, second and third highest mountains in the country.
There were acres and acres of greenhouses, not really to keep the flowers warm, rather than to protect them from the wind and harsh Equatorial sun.
Even more amazing than the greenhouses was the production area, where the roses were sorted and packed for shipping. Each station had a different colour they were working on, and quality control was very strict. Rejected roses were truly rejected, they could not even be sold locally; the farm had its reputation to protect.
There are huge farms like this all over Ecuador, growing all kinds of flowers, but roses are the countries' specialty. What I found really interesting was that each farm concentrated on a particular market. Each market has specific preferences as to favourite colours and stem lengths. The farm we visited exported the bulk of its products to Russia!
So next time you take the time to "stop and smell the roses" in your home country, take a moment to think that it may have come from this wonderful and surprising little South American country.
No comments:
Post a Comment