24 | Caring for community While 20 permanent staff manage and operate the Trust’s kiwifruit and apple orchards in Hawke’s Bay, the orchard team swells to about 200 people, during the ebbs and flows of the year. from page 22 Ngai Tukairangi Trust REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT “We manage the growth of the plant and the production of the fruit. We do all our own ground preparation, planting, plant husbandry and pruning, right through to harvesting, and sending it on to the packhouses.” While 20 permanent staff manage and operate the Trust’s kiwifruit and apple orchards in Hawke’s Bay, the orchard team swells to about 200 people, during the ebbs and flows of the year. “Our seasonal orchard staff are involved in a diverse range of activities throughout the year including apple care. We invest in our seasonal orchard team and if they want to, we can train them right across the range of operations. We bring people in and find out what their aspirations and ambitions are, then provide in-house qualifications around skills. We’re aiming for permanency in terms of employment. Because we have apples and kiwifruit, the operational time spans almost eleven months of the year, which is just about a permanent job for people.” Ngai Tukairangi Trust was established in 1987 to look after a family-owned green space encompassing 35 hectares on the Matapihi Peninsula, right in the centre of Tauranga city, to prevent the urban drift swallowing up this precious piece of land. From that initial 35 hectares the Trust has evolved into what it is today with horticultural interests throughout the North Island, and the same philosophy of holding on to greenspace. Also ingrained in its ethos, is care for the country’s rural communities, and the Trust regularly supplies bins of fruit to those communities for free fruit for the schools. “We also provide it so that it can be bagged and sold, to assist with the rural schools and community organisations’ economic resources. Since covid we’ve provided the rural areas with kiwifruit because it is a great health product. Last year we provided 18,000 trays of kiwifruit around the rural communities in New Zealand. That has now become a norm. We also offer educational grants into the areas where we have orchards. We offer employment and cadetship opportunities to local Māori.” HAWKE’S BAY FENCING CONTRACTORS The best quality fence installation in Hawke’s Bay Our fences are right on both sides! Farming & Rural • Home & Garden • Industrial & Commercial hbfencingltd@gmail.com | 0274 505 230 Proud to supply and service Ngai Tukairangi Phone: 07 573 4910 | A: 295 Jellicoe Street, Te Puke | E: sales@boptractros.co.nz Your Local Electricians in the Hawke’s Bay Fast, Friendly & Reliable • All areas of Electrical Work bnelectricslimited@gmail.com | 027 922 3089 Proudly supporting Ngai Tukairangi Trust
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=