The Great Lakes Research Journal

After the recent volcanic ash eruption in Iceland, who would’ve thought just one event could affect the entire world. People living nearly 5,000 miles away, in Kenya no doubt, are being laid off because of this disaster. Many horticulture and greenhouse workers have lost their jobs recently because there has been no need for them. According to Tom Odula of the Associated Press, “The horticulture industry is Kenya’s top foreign exchange earner making $922 million last year. Kenya exports 1,000 tons a day of produce and flowers – including roses, carnations, and lilies, said Philip Mbithi, chief executive of the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya. Kenya has thrown away 10 million flowers – mostly roses – since the volcano eruption”.
Around 5,000 people have been without work this past week because no more flowers need to be picked; they’re all going to waste as is. Most of Kenya’s exports are perishable items, so if storage is filled to capacity, not only is there no need for more, but soon these items will go bad. This equals a huge loss for everyone. Flowers and other items are being thrown away and farmers are trying to find alternative routes to ship their goods. This, however, will still cut a lot off of their profit margin. Farmers are now being advised to just stop picking flowers altogether until flights are up and going again. How could they have known, an event so geologically distant from them, could have such a huge impact? Hopefully the ash will clear soon, and these people can go back to working, and not suffer too badly in the process.