Kisima Flowers Marks 25 Years of Growth, Integrity, and Innovation
Kisima Flowers workers celebrates achieving Kenya Flower Council’s highest accreditation the Gold Standard. Kisima places strong emphasis on employees welfare
In the deep fertile highlands of Meru County, where the air is thin at 2,400 meters above sea level and the rainfall arrives from the north rather than from Mount Kenya, a flower farm that began as a modest experiment is celebrating a quarter-century of growth, adaptation, and unwavering commitment to sustainability. Kisima Flowers, now a thriving operation with 36 hectares of premium roses and summer flowers, marks its 25th anniversary this year. From a single wooden greenhouse planted with a variety called Royal Profita—a bloom that no longer exists in commercial cultivation—the farm has grown into a beacon of what General Manager Craig Oulton calls “integrity without shortcuts.”
“If you get your systems right, if you don’t veer off the path and the strategy that you’ve chosen, then you’re going to get it right,” Craig reflects. “The most important thing for me is that we do not take any shortcuts in what we do and that’s the way Kisima has grown—no shortcuts.”
The First Greenhouse: Standing Tall After 25 Years
The story of Kisima Flowers begins with a forward-thinking idea: to establish a rose farm, a region not yet known for floriculture. The founders started with a small trial house and, drawing on the area’s sustainable forestry, built wooden greenhouses. Remarkably, one of those original structures still stands today though most of the wood obviously had to be replaced for stability problems, but it’s still standing
“Of the original wooden greenhouses from 25 years ago, we still have one standing,” Craig says, a note of pride in his voice. “There is a bit of sentimental value to that first greenhouse. It’s now greenhouse two, but it was one then.”
Craig’s connection to Kisima runs deep. While he has served as General Manager for the past nine years, he was present at the very beginning. “I wasn’t running the farm, but I was here and helped plant the first greenhouse 25 years ago,” he explains. That enduring relationship gives him a unique perspective on how far the operation has come.
A Climate Like No Other
What makes Kisima Flowers exceptional begins with its geography. Nestled in a valley that creates its own micro-climate, the farm benefits from conditions that larger-headed, more robust blooms simply cannot achieve elsewhere.
“It’s an ideal climate,” Craig states and continue to say that, “Everything grows with a little bit more gusto because of the climate that we have.” The strength of Kisima is that they are in a valley and gets a micro-climate which is different from the farms that are on hills or down below them.
The farm has always maintained a mix of crops. While roses became the anchor, Kisima never abandoned summer flowers. “We’ve always maintained that there should be summer flowers growing here as well, because we’re in the best climate,” Craig explains.
Water: The Engine of Expansion
Unlike many flower farms that rely on boreholes, Kisima was blessed with a natural spring. That spring, however, comes with conditions—both environmental and communal. “We don’t have a borehole here, and we’re not going to have one,” Craig says firmly. “Our goal is to collect enough rainwater for this farm to be able to sustain itself on rainwater alone. We’re pushing that goal.”
That ambition has driven the construction of eight lagoons over the years, with water management engineered into every decision. Because the farm sits on a slope, gravity assists in moving water from one catchment to another while a sophisticated pump system allows water to be redistributed as needed.
“We are well aware that springs can dry up,” Craig acknowledges. “It’s happened in life before. We understand the pressures of having a spring and the only way to sustain our flower farm is to be collecting water.”
In the last eight years, Kisima has built three constructed wetlands to treat grey water. For that innovation,Craig credits a mentor named Derayner, a horticultural author who passed away about twelve years ago. “She taught me all about wetlands and there has been transferal of that knowledge to Kisima,” he recalls.
From Wood to Metal, Soil to Substrate and Back Again
The evolution of Kisima’s growing methods tells a story of a farm unafraid to change course when science and economics demand it. The first metal greenhouse arrived 18 years ago, and today all new construction uses metal.
But the more dramatic pivot came nine years ago, when Kisima made a counterintuitive decision by abandoning substrate growing and returned to soil. “Up here, using substrate was not cost efficient for us,” Craig explains. “Because of our weather condition, even with recycling our water, we’re actually using less water on our soil than we were recycling. We made a decision to change everything back to soil, to grow on Mount Kenya soil, and for us to produce organic fertilizers,” he adds.
That decision reflects a broader philosophy: environmental sustainability cannot be performative. “We don’t compromise on sustainability,” Craig insists. “We don’t greenwash. We say it as it is and this is a very important part of our ethos.”
Three Generations of Family, One Shared Purpose
Ask Craig what makes Kisima truly special, and he will not start with the flowers. He will start with the people. “If we look at our staff here, a lot of them are three generations,” he says. “Twenty-five years ago, we started with a small group of staff, and now we have their children here working for us. It’s not uncommon for us to see three generations working at Kisima. That is where we’re gifted, where we’re lucky.”
This multigenerational workforce creates an intangible asset that cannot be bought. Having lived flowers with their parents and in how the industry works, Craig says that, it makes for a very strong bond between the management and the staff.
On the onset kisima had 40 employees, now it employs 533 people and Craig is acutely aware of the ripple effect. “In Kenya, you employ one person, you are looking after a minimum of four,” he notes. Understanding these shapes policies that prioritize staff welfare in concrete ways.
Community Development and Employee Wellbeing
Kisima, through its Foundation, is a key driver of community development in Buuri Sub-County, with a strong focus on education, healthcare, agricultural empowerment, and employee wellbeing. In education, it supports several primary and secondary schools through infrastructure development, feeding programmes, bursaries, and scholarships, including fully sponsoring students at Gundua Secondary School. Its long-running “Breakfast Club” feeds about 6,000 children daily, improving nutrition, attendance, and retention, while additional efforts include teacher support, staff housing, school construction, provision of uniforms, and distribution of sanitary supplies to enhance student welfare and dignity.
In healthcare, Kisima established and continues to support the Gundua Health Centre and Maternity Unit, which serves thousands of residents through outpatient and inpatient services, maternity care, dental services, immunisation campaigns, and community medical outreach programmes.
Kisima also promotes agricultural empowerment by sharing expertise with local farmers through demonstration sites and field days, encouraging improved farming practices and seed potato production. Its stewardship of the Kisima spring and support for local water resource management ensures sustainable water access for over 20,000 people.
Beyond community initiatives, Kisima places strong emphasis on employee welfare. “The farm maintains a fair work structure that does not require overtime, ensuring our staff complete their workday and return home on time,” Oulton says. Employees benefit from free medical care, a subsidized canteen offering affordable meals, and access to a strong SACCO savings cooperative.
Additionally, welfare, health and safety, and gender committees provide multiple channels for employees to raise concerns, reinforcing transparency, inclusivity, and a supportive working environment. “There are so many channels for somebody to air something,” Craig emphasizes. “That’s very key for us.”
Weathering Storms: From Climate to Conflict
The flower industry has faced no shortage of crises over the past 25 years. Craig points out that, People talk about COVID, but they’ve forgotten the clashes. People talk about the clashes, but they’ve forgotten about the bad press the flowers used to get in the early 2000s. Each challenge, however, has built resilience. “We’re actually quite well cautioned to deal with diversity, because we’ve had to learn from experience,” he says.
Climate change has forced tactical shifts. When unpredictable weather threatened Valentine’s Day crops, Kisima adapted. Two years ago, the farm covered all its summer flowers—not only to protect against fog and hail but also to collect water off the roofs. “We cannot predict anymore long rains, short rains,” Craig observes. “Is it going to be sunny in January for the peaks? We don’t know. This year, it wasn’t and we have to work around that.”
Premium Flowers, Honest Economics
Despite all the talk of sustainability, Craig has not forgotten that Kisima is a business. The farm grows premium, large-headed intermediate roses and high-revenue summer flowers. Currently, 21 hectares are dedicated to roses, with the remainder to summer flowers.
Economics drives variety selection as much as horticulture. Kisima could grow tea hybrid roses beautifully, Craig admits, but freight costs make it unviable. “We have to grow roses that fit into our freight plan. It’s all about production per meter and sold per meter squared.”
The farm achieves up to 150 stems per square meter on some varieties, including one called Sawa. Break-even calculations determine what gets sent and what gets discarded. “We will not self-send flowers that don’t contribute back to the farm,” Craig states plainly. “We have to disregard them here before we send them.”
The Future: Innovation Without Crisis Management
At 25, Kisima is not resting. The goal is to reach 40 hectares on the current site, up from the single hectare it started with. After that, Craig says, “We’ll work out what to do next, because I don’t think we’re going to be stopping.” He compares running a flower farm to playing chess, where You have to be the grandmaster. “You can’t make the wrong move.”
Expressing his concern on crisis management masquerading as innovation, Craig highlights that, “Innovation cannot become crisis management. As a manager moving forward, you have to be able to stop that.”
He notes that the industry is growing more complex, with improved infrastructure, better airports, and digital tools like WhatsApp transforming communication. But he also warns against over-speculation. “The problem with a lot of businesses is too much speculation instead of having a five-year plan and sticking with it. We have to be mature about how we strategize.”
A Legacy of Passion and Integrity
Craig hopes to leave behind a legacy defined by sustained passion and drive. “I would like to see that everyone with me on this journey right now, and those who are younger, will rise to the occasion and be given the tools to do that. We did our bit, and we didn’t shy away from anything. That creates integrity with people and creates honesty in what we do.”
He pauses, then adds with characteristic directness: “My future plans are to be here in the industry for as long as the industry will have me. I’m not slowing down. Don’t forget, I’m just a guest in the industry. I’m making a salary, but I’m a guest, and I’m doing my bit.”
For Kisima Flowers, 25 years have proven that a farm built on clean water, healthy soil, loyal workers, and honest farming can not only survive but thrive. The first wooden greenhouse still stands as a testament. But the real monument is the farm itself—expanding, adapting, and growing toward the next quarter-century.
Kisima Flowers has constructed eight lagoons with water management engineered into every decision
