In London, the Orchid Festival inaugurated at the Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew was inspired for this 2023 edition by the beauty and biodiversity of Cameroon.
The influence of Cameroon can be seen through the sculptures of animals, which are flushed out during the visit. We can see a hippopotamus that emerges in the middle of the water lilies, a crocodile, or a giraffe.
“We were inspired by the fauna and flora of Cameroon, but also its immense diversity, its mixing of communities. There are more than 250 different communities in Cameroon. And Cameroonians have amazing works of art, beaded artwork. So we took inspiration from that beadwork for our orchid necklace. And there’s also fabric and colored materials that are found in the color palette that we used.”
Kew’s orchid collection has around 1,300 species. According to orchid expert Professor Michael Fay, wild orchids are under threat: “Cameroon has around just over 400 species of wild orchids. And we know what the situation is with around 25% of them. The threats to them are about the same as those to orchids around the world, that is, between 60 and 70% of them are threatened with extinction in the state savage”,
Visitors will be able to travel to Cameroon, through this lush vegetation, until March 5, 2023.