Colombia, Land Of Flowers

Of all the lands in the world, Colombia is the richest in flowers. When the first astronauts sped through the heavens and beheld the Earth, two landmarks stood out: the Great wall of China and the unique green mantle that covers Colombia. In fact, this hugely fertile land houses over 50,000 species of flowers, out of a total of 250,000 throughout the world. The daily use of flowers and of their eloquent language permeates the Colombians everyday life and their very death, it reaches all points, even in the endearing simplicity of a small garden. It is not surprising then that, also in the sphere of economics, flowers should have come to play an important role. Three decades ago, a small group of visionary entrepreneurs realized that the Bogota Savannah and certain regions of Antioquia were ideal sites for intensive floriculture, and they put that idea to work. At present Colombia is one of the worlds leader flower-producing countries and one of the main exporters to the United States. Ninety percent of Colombias entire flower production is for exportation. The quality of its products, its rigorous at meeting schedules, and the competitiveness of its prices have helped the Colombian flower industry to maintain its privileged position in international markets, competing and successfully against countries such as Holland and Japan. The flower industry has also helped to strengthen the Colombian economy in rural areas by maintaining a stable working population, thus helping to avoid migration to the cities.