{"id":30865,"date":"2017-06-30T07:07:02","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T05:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/les-mains-dans-les-kiwis\/"},"modified":"2020-07-06T10:01:53","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T08:01:53","slug":"hands-in-kiwi-fruits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/en\/hands-in-kiwi-fruits\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands in kiwi fruits"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
DISPATCH<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

So here I am, installed at Trevelyan\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> campsite. Six good weeks to pack kiwis fruits in order to get some money for the rest of my trip which I hope will be in Asia. I take advantage of my free weekend to get to know the people living in the shared house where I live. There are a dozen people from all over the world (England, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Japan, Peru, Latvia (and France with me)). Some have been there since the start of the season (early April), others, like me, have just arrived. The house where we live is an old house full of charm but which has trouble heating up. It is the start of winter in New Zealand and it is getting pretty darn cold. Fortunately small electric heaters appear as if by magic. I also take the opportunity to go for a bike ride in the surroundings. Visit of Te Puke, the village where Trevelyan\u2019s is located, as well as Papamoa, the area along the bay. I am in the Bay of Plenty. Tourism and agriculture make up the two main activities supporting the region. At the end of the bay is located Mount Maunganui, a small hill which offers a lovely view of the surroundings. Tauranga, the “big” city of the corner sprawls behind the hill.<\/p>

The work begins and I am assigned a number. I am part of the Trayliner team in D1. The work is divided into five groups: D1 – D2 – D3 – D4 and D5, the last being the group working when the others are at rest. Within each team there are different positions. The trayliners take care of opening the cardboard boxes where the kiwis will be stored, putting plastic inside and sending them to the Packers. These are on the other side of the line where the Kiwis are constantly sliding. They are the ones who store the fruit in the boxes. There are different types of boxes and plastics and you have to be quick so that packers never run out of boxes. In addition to storing the kiwis, the packers check that the stickers are present and that there are no kiwis that are too soft or damaged. Once the kiwis are in the boxes, the stackers take care of sticking labels and stacking the boxes on the pallets. At the very beginning of the line are the graders. They take care of sorting the kiwis by size and also of removing damaged or too soft fruits. Other works exist such as Quality Control but not having had the opportunity to approach them, I do not know in detail their function.<\/p>

I spend my first week in D1, in an old hangar with somewhat dated equipment. My first day almost ended in hell, almost unable to move. My back was in crumbs and I had a hellish headache. Since the work is fast and you have to do the same gestures all day, while standing, my body could not stand it. It is very physical and repetitive work and I was a little worried about how I was going to survive the next six weeks. Fortunately my body quickly got used to the repetition of work. We work long days of nine hours, which allows me to accumulate a lot of money aside. And we are entitled to free kiwis! The “scrap” is made available to employees and I do not deprive myself. For a month, we are entitled to yellow kiwis, with a sweet and delicious taste, then towards the end, these are replaced by kiwis with green flesh, a bit less sweet.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t