Women take control of fast-growing flower town

The town is threatening to burst at the seams, with the number of women attracted mainly by a flourishing flower industry increasing daily.

The lure, especially for young job seekers in the lake sidetown of Naivasha seems to be irresistible.

The scene is replicated in the fast-growing hotel industry, as well as the tourism sector, with both working in favour for women job-seekers.

While operating at its optimum, the fishing industry is another employer for women on a job-hunting mission. The fish outlets are mostly manned by women, along the shores and in the town’s central business district.

Fish-mongers do roaring business hawking the commodity within the town and its environs. This is the scenario in Naivasha to which women are trooping in search of jobs.

According to the local district officer 1, Mr Timothy Nderitu, the number of women almost matches that of men, with the town’s population currently at more than 392,000. Of the number, 168,863 are males, and 165,178 female.

With such a large number of women, some government facilities, such as hospitals, are overstretched. And the population is growing apace. Statistics show that 600 deliveries are recorded a month at the local district hospital.

The fast birth rate has led to the overstretching of the facilities, including beds. Thus, two or three women have to share a bed.

“The huge number of births has also led to a high workload for the 100 nurses and other medical staff attending to delivery cases,” says the hospital’s medical superintendent, says Dr Joseph Mburu,

The influx of women, the local DO, Mr Nderitu, agrees, is due to the presence of the dynamic horticulture industry and the vibrant hotel business.

Currently, there are an estimated 65 horticultural farms and, with most being women. According to a flower investor, Ms Sarah Higgins, the industry is women-driven.

“I have a work force of 650 women,” she says. “Mostly women are good at picking and sorting roses that their male counterparts,” she says.

Women who have already secured employment invite their female relatives to join them as they wait for job opportunities offered by the flower owners, explains Ms Higgins

Most of the sections within a particular flower farm, she reveals, are manned by women, thus making their number higher.

“Men are mostly employed in “tough” jobs within the flower industry,” says the local investor.

According Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union branch secretary Peter Otieno, more than 25,0000 women were in employment in the horticultural industry last year. "They are engaged mostly in harvesting and grading in the flower sector,” he adds.

An insider at the sector says the nature of jobs available at the various flower farms tends to be favourable to women, thus acting as a magnet for women.

“Women easily adapt to the nature of work and are more productive, despite low wages among other challengers,” she reveals.

The hotel industry is also picking up, and this is why most of the high-profile retreats are held in the town. Due to the booming business, the industry is high on the women’s list of job search.

Several high-class hotels have sprung up as they try to cash in on the retreats by politicians and entertainment seekers.

Those investing in hotels, too, prefer women when offering employment. But the biggest pull remains the horticultural industry, which accounts for the highest percentage of women.

Those not lucky enough not to secure full-time employment also try their hands at business as a fall-back activity.

But with an equal measure, the town’s “prosperous image” is also pulling workers in the red-light districts as prospective clientele increases.

With the town being a stopover for long-distance drivers, the number of commercial sex workers has been on the rise, and is estimated to be more than 15,000. This explains why health facilities are grappling with the large number of births.

Nurses and other medical personnel at the district hospital work round the clock to ensure women at the labour ward deliver safely.

Everything is in the first lane, with medical personnel at times being forced to run around to attend to cases of emergency.

And to attest to this, the hospital maternity handles between 20 and 25 deliveries a day, which is regarded at one of the highest birth rates in the district.

At least four of the births are through the Caesarean section, making it one of the busiest health facilities in the country.

The maternity facility

Although the maternity facility caters for a large catchment area that covers part of Kinangop and Narok.

“There are so many women of the reproductive age working in Naivasha town and its environs,” notes Dr Mburu.

Perhaps the only reprieve for the medics is the completion of a donor-funded, ultra-modern maternity facility being constructed within the hospital compound, which is due for completion.

With a bed capacity of 80, the facility is expected to ease congestion.

“We have already received some of the modern equipment to be used at the facility,” says Dr Mburu.

The health facility is being facilitated by flower investors perhaps in appreciation of the workload being faced by the hospital. It is designed to have laboratory and a pharmacy under one roof.