October 04, 2018
Miro helps develop Ngāti Hauā
LISA GARDINER FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE
A plan to create a Māori berry export juggernaut is starting to bear fruit.
Waikato iwi Ngati Hauā is of 20 iwi and trusts from around the country who are part of the Miro Partnership, which intends to grow and market blueberries for the Asian and Australian markets.
The berries will be grown in tunnel houses in 30-litre pots which are automatically drip-fed.
Ngati Hauā chief executive Lisa Gardiner says after an extensive search the iwi leased land from a whānau trust near Morrinsville and lined up the necessary water consents for a 2 hectare operation.
"We’ve had to do earthworks and get consent from council to do that and there have been a number of hurdles but we have finally crossed those and soon we will be employing our own whānau to put up the tunnel houses," she says.
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