Tim Rosamond and Michele Ricou. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round
By Sally Round of RNZ
They’re only into their fourth year growing avocados, but they’re already sharing their passion for the fruit with visitors from all over the world.
In March 2022, Tim Rosamond and Michele Ricou moved from Wellington, where they were working as IT professionals, to take on an overgrown avocado orchard near Katikati in the Bay of Plenty, drawn by the weather and a change in lifestyle.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing with weather challenges and the high cost of harvesting the enormous trees.
While Ricou kept working remotely in IT, there was still a shortfall in income.
“We had a really good crop the first year, and then when I crunched all the numbers in the spreadsheet and I found out that we didn’t make any money that year, I was like, wow, if that’s a year that we’ve had a good crop and we didn’t make any money, then I’m not looking forward to a year we have a bad crop,” Rosamond said.
“Michele was threatening that I’d have to go and get another, a real job.
“And I was trying to avoid that … so I’m like, okay, so what else can we do?”
With encouragement from friends and support from Katch Katikati, which was keen to promote the region’s produce, they launched Avocado Tours.
Last year, they hosted 500 visitors to a guided walk through the orchard, peppered with Tim’s avocado anecdotes and facts about the fruit, finished off with a gourmet tasting of avocado-laced treats, including bespoke ice cream and guacamole.
Keeping the tours simple and authentic is important, Rosamond told RNZ.
“Me being the grower and sharing all my learnings in my short time … a lot of people, you know, get inspired by that.
“A lot of people dream … but not many people execute on those dreams.”
Tours account for “a highly profitable” 25% of the orchard’s income, and they hope it will become the main income stream in five years.
“Then we’re a bit more in control of our own destiny.
“I think if we’re expecting the avocado industry to all of a sudden go back to the heydays of 10 years ago, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
But they do hope that by sharing their passion for the fruit, they can grow demand.
The couple grow the mainstream Hass variety on 260 trees, coming up for 30 years old on 3.4ha.
Ricou said the orchard today was quite different from when they first arrived.
“It was like going into one of those European cathedrals … even in summer, it was cold, and it was dark, and when we did the pruning, it was like the worst storm had ever come through.”
Rosamond has undertaken an extensive pruning programme to cut down the high cost of harvesting the giant trees, soaking up knowledge from other growers and online.
He’s found his corporate background does help despite the “quite overwhelming” scale of the jobs facing them in the orchard.
“In the corporate world, you might have weekly, monthly or quarterly goals that you might be focused on.
“You might even have an annual goal.
“Here I’m talking about having an eight-to-10-year goal.
“You’ve got to break things down into manageable chunks.”
Rosamond said he was used to soaking up information when working in the rapidly changing IT industry.
“So, in three years, it’s sort of been drinking from the fire hose, but I finally feel like now I’ve got enough information.
“I just need the experience of just applying what I’ve learned.”
Visitors enjoy the park-like grounds and the bird life as well as the nuts and bolts of a working orchard, he said.
“And we’ve got a great sustainability story to tell as well.”
Originally not a big fan of avocados, Rosamond’s now a convert with a mission to convert others.
“If we can help do our little bit to increase demand, I feel like we’re doing our little bit, helping people live healthier lives by growing something that we know is good for people.”
- RNZ