Tatau Tatau o Te Wairoa celebrates its first commercial apple harvest and the first of its horticulture cadets graduating. Along with Ohuia Incorporation, the trust has planted 28-hectares of Maori-land, transitioning from traditional sheep and beef farming to horticulture.

It's been a year of firsts for Wairoa's post-settlement trust, Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa.

Not only did Haumako - the horticulture branch of the trust - celebrate its first commercial apple harvest, it also celebrated the first of its cadets graduating from its horticultural training course.

The cadetship, which started three years ago, has seen five rangatahi from the rohe complete their Level 3 horticulture certification through the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) while working on an orchard set up by the trust.

Haumako's general manager Robin Kaa (Rongomaiwahine) says it's part of the trust's aim to "utilise our whenua and grow our people".

The first five of its cadets all graduated this harvest.

The cadetship started by welcoming students aged 15 to 17, "fresh out of school" and "new to the industry", but has since expanded to include up to 30-year-olds, adding a mix of ages to the programme.

The "earn as you learn" approach not only offers employment opportunities, but is empowering Wairoa's rangatahi.

Kaa says sometimes horticulture isn't always the right fit or the timing might be wrong, but every cadet leaves having learnt something.

George Cox is one of the recent graduates, having been with the team for three years.

"I've been able to get my Level 3 through this cadetship," he tells Country Life. "It feels good you know. I got kicked out of school and stuff like that so I had no NCEA levels and now I've got something."

Horticulture is not a large industry in Wairoa, though that's something Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa hopes to change. It has planted 28-hectares of land owned by the trust and Ohuia Incorporation.

The orchard, where Country Life meets Kaa, sits alongside the Wairoa River and was previously a sheep and beef block.

Kaa says there was a lot of Māori-owned land in the rohe that could be better utilised than for cropping or stock grazing.

"The idea of this is to grow the horticulture industry in Wairoa, just knowing there is very little commercial horticulture in Wairoa."

It's been a "big transition" for the team, and one of the key factors which has enabled this land use change is the trust's ability to draw and store water from Wairoa River…

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