Each year, thousands of Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers arrive in Tasman to help pick and pack the fruit that keeps the district moving. Many return year after year, building friendships at work and connections across the community. In this regular Q&A series, we meet some of those workers and hear their stories in their own words. This month the Guardian talks to Kerupi Aso Taliauli, who has returned as an RSE worker for 13 years and is now a line supervisor and winter team leader at Cederman Brothers.
Where have you come from, and what did you do there?
Vaito'omuli village in Savaii, Samoa, but I now live with my wife’s family in Apia at Aleisa village. I look after the kids and plant cabbages, tomatoes and taro.
What makes your hometown special, or what is something that people shouldn’t miss if they are visiting there?
Savaii is beautiful and in Apia the gardens and vegetation is lush and beautiful, with many colours.
What are you working towards here?
I have built a house and I am going to buy a car when I return, money for the kids and buy stuff for my family.
What do you enjoy about Motueka?
Going to Stephens Bay, Tapu Bay to get mussels and catch fish. I like Tākaka to catch the salmon, and I like the chicken and hot chips from the dairy.
What’s something you wish New Zealanders better understood about RSE workers or your culture?
Learning our language and our culture.
