A trip to the Netherlands turned out to be an aha moment for Eli Perez and his father who run Rosamina, an established Colombian flower company known for roses.
This was 12 years ago and the father-son team saw a big, luscious protea flower that mesmerized Eli. So mesmerized was he that he suggested - or rather insisted - that the family farm should go into the protea business. "I had never seen the flower before,” recalls Eli Perez, laughing at the folly of this idea. “We consulted economists, floral professionals and everyone thought we were crazy and it was never going to work.”
Because proteas are not native to Colombia which is near the equator, there were several challenges. “The altitude as well as we would be producing them 52 weeks a year and proteas are seasonal in California and elsewhere,” he recalls. “They hadn’t also acclimated to our region.” But Perez was undaunted. He wanted to be the first and had this recurring vision that if he persevered, despite the detours and challenges, he would become the biggest grower of proteas in the region.
Sure enough, that now is true after an 8-year commitment and with the last four years far more smooth sailing than the earlier bumpier years. Roasmina now produces 9 varieties of pin cushions, 7 proteas and 10 kinds of leucadendron, also known as the sunset flower.
Read the complete article at www.newbloomsolutions.com.