July 27, 2022
Kawhia rangatahi given taste of farm life
Whakatane-based forestry training company Tāne Mahuta Aotearoa is collaborating with Waikato Tainui to give rangatahi a taste of what it might mean to work on their land.
It’s just completed a three-day Ahumahi Mai – Give it a Go wananga in Kāwhia to spark interest in farming or forestry cadetships.
Director Simon Geddes says the rangatahi not only tried their hand at shearing and tree pruning, but for some, it meant being feet in their own ngahere for the first time.
“So now the biggest thing is for us to be able to build their skill level for them to actually work there and that’s their whenua, their whānau, provide that income back to their community,” he says.