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A finalist for the Ahuwhenua young Māori grower of the year award says she took a job in horticulture to provide for her first born son – and then got hooked.
Alix Te Kere now works as a health and safety advisor for Havelock North-based apple grower Rockit.
She says the job is about making sure workers get home safely – and that lines up with tikanga Maori values.
“We’re growing off the land. We’re nurturing the land but not just the land – it’s the people who make the job, it’s the people in the field who do the hard mahi is who we need to nurture also. The land and the people, we grow them together, not just one at a time,” she says.
The winners of the young grower award and the Ahuwhenua trophy for the best Maori horticultural business will be announced at at gala ceremony in Tauranga tomorrow night
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