February 11, 2021
Ngati Hine going for gold
Ngāti Hine has blessed its sixth kiwifruit orchard in the Kerikeri area, this one at Waipapa.
Ngā Ngahere o Ngāti Hine chief executive Huhana Lyndon says the forestry trust has been involved in the sector since 2014 and now has 32 hectares of kiwifruit gold growing under canopy.
She says the next step is working with kiwifruit cooperative Seeka to train the workforce.
"We can't rely on our overseas kaimahi any more. We need kaimahi locally to be working in-orchard and across the spectrum of mahi and hence why we also launched our industry-led training programme this week. We will train 60 kaimahi initially and look to grow that with a second intake in May this year," she says.
Ms Lyndon says Ngāti Hine wants its people to learn to do more than pick and pack the fruit.
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