Finally, my friends understand what it is to host live tv shows! Tonight’s ‘The Apprentice’ with Alan Sugar featured the contestants trying to sell products on a UK tv shopping channel – with rather poor success. In one of the biggest grossing shopping hours, they only made 1/5 of what the channel normally made! It was rewarding that the programme revealed how hard it is to host a show – your knowledge needs to be detailed, you have to be calm under pressure and also take directions in your earpiece from the producer, without flinching or reacting (e.g. ‘Caroline, camera one!’, ‘I’m about to zoom in on the Superbalm in your hand, so don’t move!’) – simultaneously talking about the product in question, without hesitation or deviation – help, now I sound like that Radio 4 quiz show! Anyway, I was delighted to see friends and customers emailing me to congratulate me again – once they’d seen the show, they realised that presenting is not as easy as it seems!

Back in Naivasha, Kenya, I decided to continue my research into ‘fairmiles’ versus ‘airmiles’. Went to visit Harry Milbank, who runs a successful flower and vegetable farm in the beautiful foothills of Mount Longonot. I was interested to hear how they put Fairtrade principles into practice. Fairtrade is one of the most stringent certification bodies and operates higher standards than say, Tesco Gold Standard, although this is still obviously a step in the right direction. The difference being that Fairtrade requires workers’ representation and its social and eco-standards of compliance are very high. In addition, 8% of the revenue from crop sales comes back to the farm and workers representatives allocate this money to be spent within the community. Over 1000 people are employed here, each one benefiting from a weekly wage, free transport, free lunch and medical services plus maternity benefits over and above what’s legally required. They even stagger their rotas to enable breastfeeding mums to return to their babies during the day. Staff can have interest-free loans to buy bicycles and TVs and can buy maize meal at-cost as part of their staple diet. There is no question that farms such as these are a vital part of the local ecomony.

I had a thorough tour of the entire set-up here, including the flower packhouse, where staff were busy packing roses for Tesco. Each Tesco bunch had to be labelled with a ‘by air’ sticker and there is concern that this will penalise African developing countries, who have no choice but to airfreight fresh produce. This is in contrast to European farmers, who not only truck their goods thousands of miles across the Continent, but have to use much more energy in the form of light and heat as they do not have year-round natural sunshine to grow crops in. As one farmer remarked wryly “there’s more CO2 produced in a 10 mile stretch of the M25 than producing roses”. It’s a hard decision, but when you take into account how many are employed here and the chance to bring developing countries out of poverty, I would personally choose to buy the Kenyan produce. For me, Fairmiles win over Airmiles.

This farm is not large by Naivasha standards, producing around 30 million blooms on 16 hectares each year. Most of its produce though is vegetables, a massive 10 tonnes a day for delivery to Europe’s supermarkets. Two-thirds are grown in soil and one third grown with hydroponics, meaning they are grown in a trough filled with something like pumice and irrigated with nutrient-rich water. This can be a polluting business, but here impressive changes have been made. The water is collected and filtered through natural charcoal and sand filters to clean it before it is returned to the lake where it comes from. There are also plans for an oxidised water system to naturally oxygenate the water instead of using chlorine bleaching. The nutrient-rich crop feed comes from their own compost made from the cut flower and vegetable waste and fed with worms. After 8 weeks, the worms have turned this green matter into a fabulously rich compost which crumbles easily into water to make vermi-liquid, which is then applied to the crops. A simple, old-fashioned process which has completely eliminated the farm’s requirement for chemical fertilizers. This more holistic management of the soil has the double benefit of fewer chemicals used plus improved soil and plant health. As I have learnt over the years, good farming practices are based on healthy soil management, which is why the UK’s leading organic farming movement is called the Soil Association. Next stop was to look at natural forms of pest control and again, a simple approach is the most effective. Tiny wasp-like insects (about the size of a flea) are placed next to parasitic aphids on a plant to eat them. These good bugs (phytoseiulus) basically eat all the bad bugs (spider mites), reducing the need for insecticide sprays. In this case, the need for chemical sprays has dropped by a staggering 90% simply by using bio-pest control. Finally, in the test-bed area for future development I saw a patch of a bio-diesel crop called Jatropha being grown. This noteworthy plant can be turned into an oil which can be mixed in at 20% with regular diesel. It is especially interesting as it can be grown in arid regions not usually planted, so won’t take up valuable food crop land. The only downside is that it takes three years to harvest, so it may be a while before we find pumps marked ‘Jatropha’ at the local filling station. But you read about it here first!

Drove with my Kenyan farming friend, Tom Lawrence, out of Nanuki and up a bumpy dirt track road towards the district of Timau, where he and his partners have a newly acquired piece of land ready for high-altitude farming. Of the many possible projects we have been discussing over the last few days, some of the most interesting and include organic eucalyptus oil growing, rosehip seed oil and rose water distillation. The latter would involve planting the highly fragrant and much-prized Rosa Damescena, the traditional rose variety grown for its essential oil and fragrant hydrolat (rose water). The advantage of growing at altitude is the limited rainfall combined with intense UV-rays, which seem to concentrate the essence of the plant and intensify its fragrance. This is possibly why our high-altitude lavender oil (from the Provencal hillside in the South of France) smells so much better than other varieties. Invariably more expensive, it produces a far more superior aroma and makes all the difference to the end product. This extra effort and attention to detail is very much at the heart of all we do when formulating new products as well as our existing Naturally Active Skincare. The crops that will be grown here will provide much-needed employment for several hundred people and will also be grown on eco-guidelines to conserve water and avoid toxic pesticides. Although Kenyan farmers are sometimes highlighted as being bad for the environment in terms of ‘airmiles’, it is very important to look beyond this and consider the wider impact on the local people and the environment with the eco-friendly practices being employed. A study timed to coincide with Valentine’s day earlier this year showed how buying Kenyan red roses was actually better for the environment than buying Dutch ones, even though they travel further. This is because they are grown in a more ecologically sound way in year-round natural African sunshine, not under glass with energy-hungry artificial heat and light. This has led me to think about the term ‘fairmiles’ as one which takes all aspects of growing a crop and its benefit to a struggling community into consideration, not just aviation fuel.

Leaving the comfort and very warm hospitality of Ol Lentille, the next stage of this field trip was to fly back down to Nanuki and meet up with Tom Lawrence, a dedicated horticulturalist and flower-specialist with a particular expertise for growing fragrant blooms at high altitude. He and I first met several years ago when I was on holiday in Naivasha and we fell into conversation about organic oil growing. Back then he was a conventional flower farmer, an industry not known for its environmental practise. But his dream was to farm in a more natural and eco-friendly way and this is now what he is doing in partnership with other like-minded flower farmers. His organisation specialises in growing fragrant flowers for the UK, including David Austin roses, as well as herbs and interesting foliage crops such as eucalyptus. We discussed the possibilities of growing our Eucalyptus globulus, which we use in Cleanse & Polish and our gentle Face Exfoliator. Although not certified organic, Tom uses many eco-friendly farming practices, such as growing banks of African marigolds (tagetes) to distract the bugs away from the roses so they don’t have to spray with toxic insecticides. They also use sticky strips of yellow tape attached to poles set between the roses. These attract the insects (like fly paper) and avoid having to use chemical insecticides. Because they farm on organic principles here, they grow nitrogen-fixing crops in rotation to fertilise the soil between crops. Some of the best for this are beans and peas, which are then shipped to a wholesaler before ending up on the shelves of Waitrose. Another good eco-friendly vegetable crop is ‘tender stem broccoli’, not only delicious and extremely healthy to eat but very useful for organic farmers too. The edible stems are hand-picked and sent to Waitrose, leaving the main stalks and foliage behind to be ploughed back into the ground. This then produces natural bio-fumigant isocyanates, which rid the soil of fungal diseases and unwanted root-knot nematodes. A much better option than polluting the ground with pesticides – and cheaper too. The next time I see ‘tender stem broccoli’ on Waitrose’ shelves, I shall think of Tom, his eco-friendly farming practises and the hundreds of Kenyan workers who depend on this employment to survive.

Spent the night at a fabulous new lodge called Ol Lentille on the edge of Laikipia. A new community-run development built on the very top of a high mountain peak with beautiful rooms, fabulous locally-produced organic food and the most epic view I have truly ever seen. Stayed in ‘the eyrie’, an extraordinary set of circular rooms perched on the highest point (hence its name). There is a spectacular 360 degree view of plains, forests and mountain ranges – Mount Kenya to one side, the Matthews mountain range to the other. All this and not a single house, person, car or building in sight. Truly awesome. Because it is so high, the area has its own micro-climate and it has year-round sunshine and very little rain. There is a bore-hole for water supplies and they run mostly on solar-power, so are highly eco-friendly too. One of the best points about this place is that it is run by the local community and profits go back into supporting local projects, such as education, training, apprenticeships, healthcare and wildlife conservation. Surely a far better and more sustainable option than the profits being siphoned off for overseas business consortiums. This is the way ahead for eco-tourism.

http://www.ol-lentille.com

I am back in Kenya to visit some potential organic essential oil and plant oil farmers, hoping we can work directly with the growers and not the middle-men. At 9.15 we took off in a small propeller Twin-Otter plane, an excellent scheduled daily service run by Air Kenya. The Captain turned from the tiny cockpit to give us our safety briefing “emergency exit is the door you came in, sick bags in the seat pocket in front of you” followed by breakfast service: he passed back a small Tupperware container filled with boiled sweets. I asked if I had to switch my mobile phone off “no, that’s alright” and if it was OK to sit behind the cockpit to watch him fly on instruments “sure thing”. Take off was so smooth we hardly noticed we were airborne, soon flying over Nairobi National Park, above the crocodiles greedily gliding through muddy pools and the herds of gently grazing zebra. Flying over the disgraceful Kibera slum – the seemingly endless shanty town in the heart of Nairobi (where The Constant Gardener was filmed). There are plans to re-house the people living here into new, modern homes with proper sanitation, but from the air you can see the vastness of the tin-shack town and the tiny pockets of new-build housing by comparison. We headed due north towards Nanuki – a short 30 minute hop that would take many dusty hours by road. The land below beautifully green thanks to the recent rains, with caramel-coloured rivers and red dirt roads snaking through the lush landscape. The fertile land here produces two or three crops a year in the highlands, mainly tea, coffee and vegetables such as green beans. Every inch seems taken up with agriculture, from small family-run shambas (vegetable gardens) to larger, more commercial enterprises. Approaching Nanuki, the corrugated-iron roofed houses become fewer, the forests denser and the land generally hillier. What looks like a short car ride away on a map can take many laborious hours to drive as so many hills get in the way and the dirt tracks just peter-out. Hence most people running businesses fly to-and-fro and it’s almost as common in some far-flung communities to have a small plane as it is to have a car.

From Nanuki’s tarmac airstrip we switched to a Tropic Air plane – even smaller than the first. Hardly bigger than a microlight. This time just a single charming pilot called Jamie Vernon, no boiled sweets but plenty of interesting chat about the landscape we were flying over. Just 15 minutes in the air and we touched down on the grass at Ngare Ndare, the airstrip next to a botanical ranch run by John and Penny Horsey, some of the most well-respected and established organic herb growers in Kenya. We were just in time to see piles of rose geranium being turned into essential oil – great timing! We watched as the fragrant leaves and stalks of the plants were forked up into huge steel vats before being pressurised under steam to distil the fragrant oil. One huge vatful of plant material is distilled into just 75mls of precious essential oil. It is a hugely labour intensive, time-consuming process and no-one is going to get rich as a small-scale essential oil producer. As we walked around the herb fields, John and Penny explained how the organic oil business was gradually being re-built in Kenya after scores of farmers went bankrupt in the 1950’s. Back then, the original rose-scented Bourbon geranium plant rootstock was brought from La Reunion and cultivated across Kenya. But the advent of much cheaper, chemically-copied perfume oils destroyed the market as the big fragrance houses switched to using synthetics. As a result, many small farming communities went under. Hopefully this trend is starting to reverse as people appreciate the value of natural, renewable ingredients. John and Penny have even managed to revive some of the original La Reunion root-stock and so are growing some of the finest quality, sweet-scented geranium oil to exacting certified organic standards. I have to say, I was hugely impressed with their operation and am bringing back some of their freshly-made Bourbon geranium oil for us to work with. Whilst there, we also saw their calendula harvest and watched the highly labour-intensive process of hand-picking each flower head, which is then gently laid in the warm sunshine to dry before being bagged and tagged ready for shipment. Even their equipment in the drying area is highly eco-friendly as it is totally solar-powered. Overall, the Horsey’s employ aver 120 local people, providing income, education, healthcare and, most importantly, a future for hundreds more children and other dependents in this deprived area. I sincerely hope we can do more in the future to work with them and others like them.

Well, here I am typing away thousands of feet above Australia – on my way home c/o BA, after the TVSN shows in Sydney this week. Talk about ‘whistle-stop tour’ – we landed 6am Monday, and have spent the past 6 days literally on our toes the entire time. I’m on a fitness regime for my summer holiday – exercise really helps your skin looks its best too - so I forced my good friend & colleague Manja to jog with me, most mornings – we even managed the harbour bridge on two days; stunning at 6am with the city traffic whirling by and the lights of this buzzing city as it wakes up and comes alive. Everyone is so fit here – so many peeps out running with us, though Manja and I felt rather unfit in comparison! (That’s what living in a country dominated by an outdoors lifestyles does to you!)

The shows were fun – we had some wonderful T calls (when customers call into the studio during the live shows) with some fab feedback. Superskin Concentrate still continues to be a best-seller out here – our Buyer’s Choice flew out of the door with this special skin-saver featured in the product line-up. This time, our lovely presenter Carla King Turner was on maternity leave (she is due to give birth any day!) and we were delighted to work with two other fans: the stunning and vivacious Sarah Vandenbergh (of ex ‘Neighbours’ & ‘Hollyoaks’ fame!), and Marnie Meredith. After our shows yesterday, Marnie emailed me to say what a profound difference our range had made to her skin, which suffers from the hot studio lighting and air conditioning: “Liz Earle truly is the most beautiful products and I am so thoroughly enjoying the entire range.  I don't say this light-heartedly either. I am privileged enough to receive a variety of skincare samples due to my job, but can honestly say, I've not enjoyed a range like this before.  I was truly grateful….”. Both lovely ladies. It was the first time that I’d worked with Marnie (I told her that her name mirrored my favourite Hitchcock movie, so all boded well for our first set of shows together!), but our range is so easy to demonstrate, that Marnie was hooked very quickly – as her comments above show!

This time, between shows, Manja and I managed to explore Paddington (the hip boutique-y area of Sydney), looking at some hip designer stores such as Collette Dinnigan and The Corner Shop, as well as some fun beauty spas and salons. One day, between shows, as we visited Mecca and Kit – a fab chain of skincare boutiques -  we stumbled upon a real find: a new florist called Lillifields on Oxford Street – with an organic café in the back courtyard garden, complete with botanicals growing wild and delicious juices, and a florist inside packed with the most stunning floral specimens. Also, to suit the taste of Manja (cosmopolitan German girlie) and me (supposedly discerning Londoner) – there were also some select bijoux and gifts. Just up our street and a real find for any Sydney trippers to discover…..

The weather was warmer than seasonably predicted, so we enjoyed similar May weather to the UK – but the sun is just so hot here. Again, I plied myself with SPF whenever we were in the sun for more than a few minutes as it just seems to bore down on you. 

Back in the UK for a few weeks now, complete with a stinking cold – thanks to good old long-haul flights, I’m sure!

My first QVC show today, with Liz – I suppose one could call it a debut! This has been a while in coming, as we want all our QVC customers to feel really comfortable about why I’m helping Liz host some of our tv shopping shows. I presented with Liz for 10 minutes at the top of two one hour shows at 11am (with Kathy) and 6pm (with Alison Keenan) – great fun and really enjoyable to literally feel the buzz off Liz as the lights go down and they count you in. I love live tv – such a buzz! We also had a wonderful opportunity at the last minute – Alison Young, QVC’s resident beauty presenter, was off sick so I was able to present an one hour extra show with Claudia. Though unexpected, this was a fun way to gain more time getting to know our customers via a live show – we had some fun texts and messages to the studio. It was lovely to receive feedback from both colleagues and customers alike – I was rather nervous beforehand – and it’s so rewarding somehow, knowing that people are tuning in. QVC’s maximum audience is nearly 20 million, so it takes quite some confidence to take a step back sometimes!

Anyway, no rest for the wicked - off to Sydney tomorrow for more tv shows with TVSN. Hope the sun is shining there and not rainy like here in the UK – is it just me., or have April and May somehow mixed themselves around, weather-wise?!