This week on Country life, the team chat to Irish farmer and author John Connell and heads to East Timor to see how money earnt in New Zealand orchards is benefiting those back home.

You can find photos and read more about the stories in this episode on our webpage, here.

In this episode:

• 0:54 - Rural news wrap
• 5:27 - Yarn on a farm: Sheep, beef and trees in South Otago
• 12:32 - John Connell: Life lessons from those who work on the land
• 24:53 - A Ticket to a Better Life: Timor-Leste enters New Zealand's RSE programme
• 45:59 - A word from the late Sam Neill

With thanks to:

• Nigel Woodhead
• John Connell
• Loua Ward, José Ramos-Horta, Cherie Drummond, Marcos Dias and family, Pedro Suarez and Anna Thomas
• The late Sir Sam Neill - you can find our preview interview with him here

Producer Anna Thomas travelled to Timor-Leste with assistance from the Asia New Zealand Foundation

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Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details