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Building a family in the flower business

Marleny Farías, manager of Melody Flowers. Courtesy: Melody Flowers A conversation with Marleny Farías is like sitting down and talking to a mother. But this mother tells stories and anecdotes of her life and of the times when she has had to advise and take to task her large family of more than 300 people. Para leer este post en español, por favor haga click aquí. Marleny has been the manager of Melody Flowers since it was created 21 years ago. A Colombian flower company dedicated to the production of roses and gypsophila in the savanna region of Bogotá. Melody Flowers is a Florverde Sustainable Flowers certified company and we talked to the manager about her role in floriculture. As an accountant, Marleny began her history in floriculture through her husband, entrepreneur Felipe Cely, who has been a floriculture entrepreneur for more than 40 years and founding partner of several flower companies in the country. " I got involved in floriculture many years
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Construyendo familia en el negocio de las flores

Marleny Farías, gerente de Melody Flowers. Cortesía: Melody Flowers Una conversación con Marleny Farías es sentarse a hablar con una mamá. Pero esta mamá cuenta historias y anécdotas de su vida, de las veces que le ha tocado aconsejar y llamar la atención a su gran familia de más de 300 personas. To read this entry in English, please  click here Marleny ha sido la gerente de Melody Flowers desde su creación hace 21 años. Una empresa floricultora colombiana dedicada a la producción de rosas y Gypsophila en la sábana de Bogotá. Melody Flowers es una empresa certificada Florverde Sustainable Flowers y hablamos con ella sobre su rol en la floricultura. Contadora Pública, Marleny comenzó su historia en la floricultura por medio de su esposo, el empresario Felipe Cely quien ha sido emprendedor en la floricultura por más de 40 años y socio fundador de varias empresas floricultoras en el país. “ Yo me involucré a la floricultura varios años después que Felipe porque mis hij

Comparaciones entre Florverde Sustainable Flowers y Rainforest Alliance Certified

Sello de certificación Florverde Sustainable Flowers. E n el mundo de los estándares que pretenden certificar las buenas prácticas ambientales, sociales o de calidad para la producción, vemos cientos de iniciativas locales y mundiales con diversos niveles de reconocimiento en los distintos mercados de destino. Y es curioso observar que ese reconocimiento muchas veces se basa más en la habilidad de sus comunicaciones y mercadeo que en la robustez técnica del estándar como herramienta de mejoramiento continuo. To read this entry in English, please  click here Por otro lado existen estándares de país que se han acercado a los productores locales, entendiendo su contexto y dando respuesta a las necesidades reales en la producción, lo que los posiciona como estándares técnicamente excelentes pero de baja recordación, esto porque normalmente no cuentan con los recursos de mercadeo para posicionarse a nivel internacional, entre la cadena de suministro y mucho menos al nivel de co

General comparisons between Florverde Sustainable Flowers and Rainforest Alliance Certified

Florverde Sustainable Flowers label. I n the world of standards which aim to certify good environmental, social or quality production practices, we see hundreds of local and global initiatives with diverse levels of recognition in the different destination markets. And it is curious to note that this recognition is more often based on the ability of their communications and marketing strategies rather than on the technical robustness of the standards as a tool for continuous improvement. Para leer este post en español, por favor haga click aquí.  On the other hand, there are country-level standards that have approached local producers, understanding their context and responding to their real needs in terms of production, which positions them as technically excellent standards, but with a low remembrance due to the fact that they usually do not have the marketing resources to position themselves internationally, between the supply chain and even less at the final

INTERVIEW | Getting to know more about the Tingua that lives on our flower farms

Erika Milena Sánchez - Colombia Biodiversity Scholar doing field work on a floriculture farm. The "Spot-flanked Gallinule ( Gallinula melanops ) –or Tingua moteada in Spanish" is an endemic subspecies found in the Eastern Colombian Mountain Range located in the Cundinamarca and Boyacá departments, and it is considered endangered due to various threats to its natural habitats. Thanks to the project The Birds of the Asocolflores Flowers ( Las Aves de las flores de Asocolflores ), their presence was identified in the flower farms located in the Savannah region of Bogotá; these farms count on artificial reservoirs of rainwater which provide water mirrors and some aquatic plant coverings that help the birds to feed and survive. Lea este artículo en Español aquí We interviewed Erika Milena Sánchez, the first scholarship holder from the agreement between Asocolflores and the Colombian Biodiversity Research Fund of the Alejandro Ángel Escobar Foundation. She presented the

INFOGRAPHIC | Mother's day in Floriculture

The celebration of Mother's Day is very important for the Colombian floriculture that exports and commercializes its products for this date. Flowers with the Florverde Sustainable Flowers label guarantee respect for workers and their families. Find here the list of certified companies  Florverde Sustainable Flowers.

Florverde Sustainable Flowers leader in the evolution of the FSI Basket of Standards 2020

With the objective of stimulating and reflecting on good practices in floriculture, the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) introduced the evolution of the FSI Basket of Standards with the addition of a new environmental scope. A total of 14 international voluntary sustainable standards and schemes make up the FSI Basket . They are fully transparent, comparable and by way of independent benchmarking, comply with basic requirements of social and/or environmental and/or good agricultural practices (GAP). Recommended article: Why is so important for Florverde to be part of the FSI Basket of Standards? With the evolution of the FSI Basket of Standards, stakeholders are encouraged to adopt and recognize their social criteria with the SSCI compliance , their good agricultural practices with GLOBALG.A.P benchmarking and their environmental aspects with the new environmental benchmarking of the FSI Basket. (See image below) Florverde Sustainable Flowers is one o

| ENTREVISTA | Conociendo más de la tingua moteada que habita en nuestras fincas floricultoras

Erika Milena Sánchez - Becaria Colombia Biodiversa en trabajo de campo en finca floricultora. La “tingua moteada" es una subespecie endémica de la Cordillera Oriental colombiana registrada en los departamentos de Cundinamarca y Boyacá. Se considera en peligro de extinción (EN) debido a diversas amenazas en sus hábitats naturales. A partir del proyecto Las Aves de las flores de Asocolflores , se identificó su presencia en las fincas floricultoras de la Sabana de Bogotá que cuentan con reservorios artificiales de agua lluvia, proporcionando allí los espejos de agua y algunas coberturas vegetales acuáticas que le sirven a esta ave para alimentarse y sobrevivir. Read this article in English here Entrevistamos a Erika Milena Sánchez, primera becaria del convenio entre Asocolflores y el fondo de apoyo a la investigación Colombia Biodiversa de la Fundación Alejandro Ángel Escobar, al presentar las conclusiones de su investigación en Biología sobre la densidad de la Tingua mot

Roses, roses, roses - FSF certified even better!

Passion Growers - Flores Ipanema. Latest FSF certified company. At Florverde® we are very pleased to welcome a new flower company to our sustainable community.  Passion Growers, founded in 2001, is a family-oriented company dedicated to growing and providing the most beautiful and highest-quality roses. Passion Growers’ 200 varieties of roses can be found in more than 5,000 retail and grocery stores around the United States, and online under the brand name Passion Roses. Passion Growers farms are located i n the savannah just outside the capital city of Bogota, Colombia, where the roses are grown in the most ideal conditions. Flores Ipanema are one of the providers of roses for Passion Growers in North America.  For Ximena Franco, director of Florverde®, "We welcome Passion Growers - Flores Ipanema to our sustainable community after completing all the social, technical and environmental requirements to obtain the Florverde® Sustainable Flowers certification.

Why is it important for Florverde to be part of the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative basket of standards?

The Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together members of the international floriculture supply-chain. FSI members collaborate to improve practices and drive positive change towards the sustainable production and trade of flowers and plants. A total of 14 international voluntary sustainable standards and schemes make up the FSI Basket. They are fully transparent, comparable and by way of independent benchmarking, comply with basic social and/or environmental requirements. As explained by Florverde® Sustainable Flowers director, Ximena Franco: “FSI is an international initiative pursuing the goal that by 2020, 90% of flowers produced and traded are certified as sustainable. For this to happen, FSI has convened different certification schemes that have international accreditation under ISO 17065, to comprise a basket of standards. Florverde® is part of this FSI basket of standards.” At Proflora 2017, we had the privilege