For the love of trees

By Jeckonia Otieno

Kenya's greatest infrastructural exploit - the Thika Superhighway - is almost complete. But while the road has been a boon for many, it has swept numerous businesses into extinction. Only the strongest and most resilient have weathered the challenges it has wrought.

Among these businesses is one hinged on the importance of trees. The business, which sits by superhighway at Drive-in Cinema, is headed by a trio that refused to bow to pressure even when the construction of the road was at its thickest. They never relented – and now they are looking at the future with lots of optimism.

Martin Kimathi, John Macharia and Julius Kariuki have stuck by the roadside, tending to the thousands of seedlings on the little strip of land left after the road was expanded.

"My love for trees will never be drowned by anything, not now not ever because trees are life; they form the core of healthy living on earth," Macharia says.

Macharia says he taught himself about trees as he grew up. After attending a number of seminars, he now knows so much about trees that he can name any species — using its scientific name no less — without batting an eyelid.

Next level

"I bought an encyclopaedia and through it I have acquired a lot of knowledge on trees than some of those who have studied courses on botany," boasts Macharia.

He reveals that he is keen to expand his knowledge on trees so that he can take his business to the next level.

On the other hand, Kimathi learnt about trees through an old encyclopaedia. He says it was South African and had all the names of the trees one could ever come across. The book got lost in 2000, and since then, he has tried in vain to get another like it. Unfortunately for him, it is difficult to get an exact copy like the one he lost.

Their tree nursery has around 100 varieties of trees and 500 different types of flowers— some of which are grafted and some which are not. The trio mostly grafts fruit trees like avocadoes, mangoes, oranges and pears among others.

But they also stock trees like the Indian rubber, ornamental cypress and cypress, blue gum, whistling pine, podo and fir. Among some of the varieties they have of flowers are golden duranta and harmelia pattern,

And while there is no water in the taps, their trees appear well nourished. The water, they say, was disconnected when the road construction started, and has never been restored.

This has forced them to get water from a well they dug beside the road. The well provides enough water, which has kept them going without any problems of the tree seedlings withering.

Kimathi says, "We are unsure when we will get piped water again and we are unsure of our stay here."

The process of selling trees begins at the nursery where seeds are planted. For this, the entrepreneurs start off by buying the polythene bags in which they plant the seeds. These bags come in bundles of 100 at the price of Sh200. They also put some in pots because of the different tastes that their clients have.

These entrepreneurs also need water and soil to plant the trees, but while there had been plenty of soil before the road expansion begun in 2009, there was little afterwards. This has forced them to buy soil, which is an additional expense. One lorry of soil goes for Sh50, 000.

After getting soil, they then employ manual labour to fill the bags and then plant, and water the seeds. As the seedlings start growing, they require almost constant watering and care so that they do not die.

Since taxation is mandatory for any business in the country, the trio also pay tax.

"We pay a daily tax of Sh50 to the City Council, even though we do not get water from them," says Kariuki.

Reduced demand

Their problems have been compounded by the fact that customers disappeared once the construction begun. According to the entrepreneurs, most people thought the tree nursery would die off once the road construction started. The reduced demand took a big bite into their income for the period, and even denied them credit facilities to grow their business.

"Now, even getting a loan of only Sh50, 000 is a problem because banks do not even want to look at us twice," Macharia laments,

But the three are staying optimistic, saying they expect business to pick up now that the road is almost complete

So far, they have a number of customers from Ruiru, Juja, Thika including areas like Thome and Kiambu. They have also had a number of customers from highly placed offices in government. However, they insist that these customers are not the best.

"They come to buy trees or flower seedlings but instead of recognising our growth needs, they begin haggling over prices and end up buying our products for less the marked price, yet this is a cabinet minister," Kimani states.

So what does the future hold for the three entrepreneurs?

They have also resolved maximise their gains during the peak seasons of April to May and November to December because that is when most people buy tree seedlings.

Apart from the tree business, they have plans to venture into landscaping since it runs hand in hand with the environment. They observe that the beauty of the landscape is determined by the arrangement given to the plant cover in any particular place.

And in five years, they hope to start mini greenhouse beside the road.