Rowan, our Head of Technical spoke with Bonny at Cenacle Ltd to find out more about the farm and what it does.
When was the farm set up? We started our first farm in 2014 on a small 10 Acre plot in Karagita, Naivasha which due to expansion to larger sites we have now closed for crop production.
What do you grow? (crops and number of varieties of each):
We grow an exciting and comprehensive range of Summer Flowers including; Gypsophila, Solidago, Eucalyptus, Limonium, Hypericum, Ruscus, Eryngium, Craspedia, Lysimachia, Ornithogalum, Delphiniums, Phlox. Our products appear in The Flower Hub catalogue where our varieties can be seen.
Where are you/ size/ altitude/ average rainfall/ average temperatures:
We have 2 farms – one is on North Lake Road, Naivasha at 1900m where we have 100 Acres, and we have a higher altitude farm in Ol Kalou at 2300m which is 25 Acres. The 2 locations allow us to grow a range of crops that require different climactic conditions as Ol Kalou is a lot cooler than Naivasha and gets more rain, it also spreads the risk as we grow everything outdoors and extreme weather events are generally quite localised so if one site is hit by a hailstorm it is unlikely both will be.
How much of the area is under production?
We have about 35 acres under production at the moment with plenty of room to expand (which we are rapidly doing!)
Do you have any Environmental projects/aspects?
We have a Tree planting programme, we compost all the compostable materials from the farm and apply this compost back to our beds, we have an apiary with beehives on each site and we have integrated live stock (Sheep) which feed on the grass around the farms and some of the green waste from the flower production process. We are looking into the option of Solar power
Do you have any CSR projects?
We provide free drinking water to the community, we provide a free lunch for our workers and porridge at break time, we regularly donate flowers to our local churches and have worked with the local Kindergarten to fence their plot to secure it from animals and unauthorised people entering.
Other Projects;
Member of staff – numbers/ facilities (e.g. Canteen):
We employ 330 People year round which does increase during events, we have canteen facilities at both sites and we provide all required PPE and on farm medical services when needed.
Accreditations:
We currently have GlobalGAP and we are working towards KFC Silver, as this is a complete standard which is benchmarked against GAP, Environmental and Social standards.
Market (% direct/ Auction and key destinations):
80% Direct (50:50 TFH and UAE), 20% Auction.
Any other interesting facts you would be happy to share?
We are a farm that is focused on specialty crops and we are always open to trialling new products and varieties. We want to deliver a point of difference for our customers and like to produce crops which no-one else is producing.
