Why Kenyan men fear flowers

Philip Muasya, a barber in Nairobi’s Tena estate, is the quintessential modern Kenyan man — he speaks openly about delicate matters of the heart and would accept a gift of a flower from the woman he loves.

But Muasya would be too embarrassed to receive one in public, let alone carry it around in the streets.

“It depends on where you present them to me. If you bring them to my house, I will appreciate, though I don’t have a flower vase to hold them. I do like flowers though I don’t know much about them, but don’t make a mistake of giving me a bunch in public simply because I won’t take them,” he says.

Muasya’s sentiment is perhaps as close as you can get to a kind word about flowers from a Kenyan man in the streets of Nairobi.

Victor Kung’u, a 33-year-old interior designer, won’t just touch them.

“Flowers don’t mean much to me. They should be given to women because they attach some sentimental value to them, which honestly I don’t,” he says.

While such attitudes have something to do with personal tastes and preferences, they also bring out one of the ironies of Kenya’s lifestyles. Despite producing the best roses you can find in Amsterdam — the world’s flower capital — Kenyans are among the least informed about them.

A woman’s thing

Some only see a flower as something grown in a greenhouse by wazungu (white people) and a few rich Africans and exported abroad. Other people, especially men, believe giving a flower as a gift is a woman’s thing.

Except on Valentine’s Day — February 14 — observed internationally as a lovers’ day with red roses, it is rare to see many people carrying flowers around. Fewer people still buy flowers during weddings, hotel receptions or to take to hospital.

But this could change soon, if a campaign by flower growers and sellers to create what they call a flower culture succeeds.

At an exhibition dubbed “Soko la Maua” (flower market) staged in Nairobi recently, the Kenya Flower Council and the Kenya Flower Vendors Association showcased flowers grown in the country. Officials say that it is the beginning of an annual event during which consumers will be introduced to the culture of using flowers to express emotions such as love, sadness, gratitude, remorse, and goodwill.

Flowers and bouquets of flowers have a meaning of their own and have been used to convey ideas, feelings and messages for centuries. The flower culture evolved in the 18th Century during the Romantic Age when the phrase “I love you like a red, red rose” was coined.

In the West, flowers are said to have overtaken chocolate as the leading gift item, creating a multi-billion-dollar industry from which countries like Kenya are reaping handsomely.

Kenya Flower Council chairman Erastus Mureithi laments that the culture has failed to take root in Africa, despite its being deeply entrenched in Europe, where more than 90 per cent of Kenya’s flowers are sold. The country earns an estimated Sh40 billion from flower exports.

What is more, Kenya is the world’s largest flower exporter, accounting for 32 per cent of all flowers sold in the European Union. It has recently ventured into the US too. As part of the new campaign, the Kenya Flower Council will assist vendors to acquire quality flowers and arrange them in line with the latest trends in international markets.

Jane Ngige, the chief executive officer of the council, says domestic consumption of flowers holds potential investment opportunities, especially for the young people.

If tapped, Ngige says, the local market could prove a viable alternative to the export market, which is currently threatened by the carbon miles debate among other stringent standards.
But the biggest challenge for the campaign — which the council says it is up to — is promoting a flower culture in a country where it is considered alien. The idea is borrowed from Europe where busy flower kiosks are found at every corner.

“We want to enable people to appreciate the use of flowers that are produced in their own countries, yet they know nothing about them” says Ngige.

Both vendors and consumers will be educated on the meaning of different colours and varieties of flowers. Except for the red rose which signifies love, the majority are totally ignorant about other colours such as yellow, pink and the various combinations.