Friday, March 29, 2024

From a desk to the orchard

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After 18 years in the tourism industry, covid-19 turned Geoff Rawlings’ life upside down, forcing him in a new direction.
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Now, he’s launched himself into kiwifruit pruning and planting – and there’s no looking back.

“I spent my entire career in tourism and whilst it had its ups and downs, including the global market crash, this was the first time I have ever felt that it would take a long time to get back up,” he said.

In his old job he dealt with clients, calls and selling experiences – now Rawlings prunes and plants kiwifruit in Tauranga.

It’s a far cry from the hustle and bustle of his former workplace, but he’s not missing it.

“An office job can be quite taxing, whereas this isn’t mentally taxing. I walk away at the end of the day having achieved something,” he says.

Getting out of an office chair and into the orchard means that Rawlings’ health and diet has improved, including eating five kiwifruit a day.

Initially, he thought working in an orchard would be a “sabbatical” of sorts, but now he sees a future in the fuzzy fruit.

“I am enjoying this so much, I don’t want to go back to tourism, I want to get into the business side of things,” he said.

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