In Kyumbi, the township not far away from the Machakos junction on Mombasa-Nairobi highway, most residents are farmers.
Some grow sukuma wiki, maize and beans at the backyards while others keep chickens, goats and sheep in small pens behind their palatial homes.
Lilly Nduku Mwanzia’s backyard, however, stands out as it hosts arabicum, a popular summer flower that she exports directly to the Royal FloraHolland, the largest flower auction in the world located in The Netherlands.
A flower lover, Lilly recalls that sometime in 2017, she was taken aback when she spotted a lone arabicum flower thriving in a distant relative’s compound in a neighbouring village.
When she asked how the flower she had mostly seen in expensive bouquets in big offices, hotels and city homes had found itself in the sleepy village, her audience shrugged their shoulders.
The lone flower was all the businesswoman required to convince herself that the region was suitable for growing flowers, a dream she worked on.