The Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences at CZU in Prague is once again joining the nationwide initiative Exhibition on Trees, organized in cooperation with the student association BeFair. This year’s exhibition will take place from October 4 to 11, 2025, during the Week for Decent Work, and will be displayed in the outdoor areas of the CZU campus.
Flowers from Kenya: Beauty That Comes at a Cost
This year’s edition, titled Invisible Thorns, reveals the hidden costs of the cut flowers that arrive in Europe every day from East Africa. Roughly 40% of all cut flowers on the European market come from Kenya. Each day, millions of roses and other fresh flowers are shipped from Kenyan farms to Europe—reaching supermarket shelves and florists within 24 hours.
Flowers represent big business for Kenya. The floral industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the country's economy and employs more than 150,000 people. However, it is also frequently associated with low wages, poor working conditions, high water consumption, pesticide use, and environmental degradation. The exhibition highlights not only these challenges but also widespread sexual harassment of women, offering a raw look into life on flower farms.
The exhibition was created by Pavla Steinhauserová and Stanislav Komínek from Fairtrade Czech Republic and Slovakia, who visited flower farms in Kenya to document the working conditions of employees and the environmental impact. They also explored the real-life benefits of the Fairtrade system, which aims to improve the living and working conditions of producers.
When and Where?
- October 4–11, 2025
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, CZU Prague – Outdoor campus area
The exhibition is held under the auspices of Fairtrade Czech Republic and Slovakia and was supported by the Czech Development Agency as part of the Czech Republic’s Development Cooperation program.
Exhibitions with a Message
Since 2015, Exhibition on Trees has brought the topics of decent work and global justice into public spaces. Every year, the event involves volunteers, schools, organizations, and individuals. Last year, exhibitions were held in 117 locations across the Czech Republic.
Thanks to its format—poster exhibitions installed outdoors—the initiative reaches the public directly where people gather: in parks, town squares, or, as in our case, on a university campus. This year’s exhibition is coordinated by Fairtrade Czech Republic and Slovakia, in collaboration with NaZemi. The event is part of the Week for Decent Work, which takes place annually around October 7 – World Day for Decent Work.
What Does Decent Work Mean?
Decent work means conditions that respect human rights, ensure fair wages, safety, social protection, and equal opportunities. It is work free from exploitation, discrimination, and environmental harm. Ensuring decent work is a key strategy in tackling global poverty, child labor, and the oppression of women's rights.
Promoting fair conditions in global supply chains is a challenge—but also a necessary step toward a more sustainable and just future.
A Look Back: Previous Editions of Exhibition on Trees
- 2015: Coffee farming in Guatemala and Mexico – Hands Full of Work
- 2016: Tanneries and shoe production in Bangladesh – Know Your Shoes
- 2017: Banana cultivation in Panama and Costa Rica – The Story of a Banana
- 2018: Shoe factories in India – Our Shoes
- 2019: Cocoa farming in Côte d’Ivoire – The Price of Cocoa
- 2020: Automation and robotics – Work (Without) a Future
- 2021: Cotton farming in India – Life in Cotton
- 2022: Coffee crisis in Colombia – The Coffee Crisis
- 2023: Impact of the climate crisis on work – End of Shift!
- 2024: The Fairtrade certification system – Fairtrade Works
- 2025: Flower farming in Kenya – Invisible Thorns
Come and see the exhibition, share the message of decent work, and join us in this unique initiative — an exhibition that may have thorns, but carries meaning.
