Namara mints from her home space

Nakalere road in Upper Naalya Estate is a serene environment. Some lush trees stand tall over fenced homes on both sides of the residential street, offering shade and a cool breeze. Bird squeaks cap the ambience on a Thursday mid-morning.

A view of the surrounding outside the gate of Usain Rehema Namara’s home, offers hardly anything beyond the perimeter walls of the neighbouring homes.

Once inside the compound, the scenery answers why the neighbourhood identifies her as “Nalongo Ow’ebimuli.”

From the gateway, through the walkway, to the doorstep of her bungalow, it is a colourful set of flowers and ornamental plants.

There is a greenhouse filled with flowers somewhere in the left corner. Flowerpots of different shapes, sizes and colours sit on steps and pavements around the compound. Numerous fluorescent plants hang on trees and walls.

Namara has turned her home into a parlour of flowers that profits the family, makes her friends, and most importantly, provides therapy for her. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2017, and she reveals that since then, the flowers she grows and interacts with, have helped her in healing.

Inspiration

Besides being a mother of five and wife to Suleiman Namara, Ms. Namara, 43, identifies herself as a florist and landscaper. But that, she mentions, “came only four years ago.”

She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree of Art in Economics at Makerere University in 2003 and later in 2013, a postgraduate diploma in Procurement and Supply Chain at Uganda Management Institute.

“But all along, I was a housewife, simply looking after my children,” she says.

One day in mid-2016, she visited a friend’s home. “It was this magnificent, sophisticated home,” Namara beams as she narrates, “plenty of excellent flowerpots; a small home, with many flowers which are so organized. I looked back at my home, where I had a lot of dormant space. But most importantly, the scene fascinated me, and I was inspired to have something similar.”

Growing up in a home with flowers, Namara loved plants from childhood. In her compound however, she had only a few little-maintained flowers, including Bromeliads, Cactus and Succulents.

Learning from friends

With a renewed passion for flowers, Namara ventured into collecting and growing flowers. “I had some savings which I would use to start,” she recalls. She started preparing her compound, including buying flowerpots and buckets.

Family friends; Amelia Masiko and Betty Mugoya were her mentors.

“They gave me tips. They told me what to get and what not to get,” Namara reveals.

As she bought, studied and learned more, friends introduced her to groups of plant lovers like Uganda Tropical Plants Association (UTPA).

In the groups, she met many florists from whom she gained more knowledge and experience in nurturing flowers.

“People tell you where you’re doing it right and wrong,” Namara says, admitting that she learnt by doing.

A few months into the venture, in October 2016, she was invited to a flower exhibition at Uganda Museum. At the one-day show, she exhibited some of her flowers, grossing over sh2m from sales.

“I couldn’t believe that I could get money from the flowers I was collecting. I realized it could be a serious business,” says Namara who was also awarded the best upcoming florist on the same day.

“At the exhibition, people gave me orders. I got more exposure, seeing more varieties of flowers,” she narrates.

Turning Point

Namara’s experience grew as she continued to interact with others in floriculture. When she went to Kenya for a second opinion on Breast cancer, she says, “Flowers were on my head.”

“I used the opportunity to discover other varieties in a different country.”

She later attended events like Naivasha Horticultural Fair, an event in Kenya that showcases products and services in the horticultural industry.

Namara’s turning point however, was her cancer diagnosis. She reveals that since being diagnosed with breast cancer, whenever she leaves the country for treatment, she collects flowers. “I usually ask my friends which flower I can bring home,” she says.

During her treatment visits to India, she has made friends with various florists, which exposed her to various species of flowers, and inspired her to grow the venture.

Business

Four years since inception, her passion has grown into ‘a serious business.’ Today, she barely knows the number of flower species in her compound. “There are hundreds,” she says, “coming from various countries around the world.”

“It is addictive. When I visit my friends, I pick something and they do the same when they visit. The more you see, the more you want to have.”

She has since registered the business under the name Remie Blooms. She mainly sells through online platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, and during flower events.

According to Namara, the habit of nurturing plants at home is catching on. For example, she sold a lot of air-purifying plants at the height of Covid lockdown.

Besides beautifying the space, flowers have many benefits. “You decide from day one if you are going to do it as a business. You can start with less than Shs50, 000. You can start a kaveera, soil and any plant,” she guides.

Plant care

Namara advises that one starts with low-maintenance plants like Cactus, Succulents and Bromeliads, because they are not so complicated.

“It is important for one to know which kind of plant you are interested in and how to handle it,” she says, adding that there are many kinds, including air, water, and shade plants.

“You ought to know how much water each plant requires. You have to know how to mix the soil. You have to know which soil each plant needs,” she emphasizes.

While mixing the soil, opt for a good fertilizer, including charcoal and wood dusts.

“To have a good plant and sustain it, you need dedication and time. These plants are like babies. You have to continue checking on them, to ensure they are growing properly,” she says.

 If you have another job that doesn’t give you time to look after your flowers, Namara advises finding someone to monitor them.

Paying the bills and more

“It pays the bills, as a full time job or even more,” she says.  Today, Namara employs three people, who work in the gardens.

On a good day, she rakes in over Sh500,000. She has also acquired other skills. Today, she also designs compounds.

During her Breast Cancer treatment in India, she says, she learnt that flowers are therapeutic.

“In India, one florist friend allowed me into her garden. I would move from the hospital to the garden to kick away the stress. Today, whenever something is disturbing me, I move out, move around flowers and I heal,” she reveals.

Namara says: “You meditate, you have the fresh air and you make money. Flowers have also built me many friend relationships.”

I want multi-purpose - Florence Bukirwa

Florence Bukirwa has for long desired to plant flowers. Four weeks ago, the mother of two and a salesperson at a beauty company in Kampala, made the important step. She started.

She got four plastic 10-litre water bottles, cut off the top half to make flower vessels. She got soil from the backyard of her apartment and set out three plants, including aloe vera and peppermint.

“Peppermint has a lot of benefits. You can put it on your drink. Women, mostly use it for cleansing their faces and it is used by people who have pain in the muscles and joints,” Bukirwa explains.

“I use oil which is made out of peppermint, so I thought why don’t I use the real peppermint? It makes no sense buying the oil when you have the natural peppermint,” she says.

“The aloe vera heals sickness. For the people who have pimples, it removes excess oil,” states Bukirwa.

“I want to plant a flower which has another purpose to help me. For example, if I or my child are sick, I can get a leaf of aloe vera, squeeze it and drink it. I can use it on my skin,’ Bukirwa says.

Visiting the home of her friend’s mother, who is doing home gardening, a month ago, excited and awakened her spirits.

Bukirwa is yet to discover the name and use of the third plant which she got from a friend, but like everything, she is learning by practice.

She is experimenting on all things, planting and hoping that they will germinate. She expects to have over 30 vessels, with flowers, herbs and some vegetables. “Not to sell them, but for my own,” she stresses.

For Bukirwa, starting didn’t cost a thing. Friends offered the seedlings and the bottles. From discussions, she is learning and getting tips to improve her project.

Challenges

As exciting as it got, Namara would later learn that growing flowers is not a bed of roses.

“People take flowers for granted. Many look down on gardening,” she says, explaining that, consequently, many people don’t want to pay the price for flowers.

“People ought to know that flowers are not cheap. Bringing up flowers from nothing to something is not an easy task. It takes good soil which should be bought. It takes a lot of time weeding, pruning and supervising plants,” she decries.

She states that some flowers are slow-growing plants, so it takes risk. Besides high water bills, Namara laments fake pesticides on the market, which sicken the plants.

Therefore, she cautions, “You have to know the right pesticides.” “Snails are also a big problem in business, because they eat the plants.”