Taimahi Trust offers free, immersive, on-the-job training through our not for profit social enterprises

We have a retail outlet, commercial kitchen and a hothouse. In these enterprises, trainees develop skills in retail, horticulture and food production.

Through our free program, trainees are supported to develop practical skills, personal growth and soft skills. We are working towards accreditation of our program with NZQA. The training program is tailored to individual needs and, on average, takes two years.

Once this ends, our goal is to support trainees to transition successfully in to paid employment opportunities or further education.

Retail outlet: Taimahi Fresh+

In the heart of Whangarei, our Taimahi Fresh+ shop sells fresh produce, developing skills in product placement, inventory management, customer service, till operation, and retail best practice.

The shop provides a well-balanced combination of regular daily structure for our trainees, while having the opportunity to interact with each customer and respond to their individual needs. Sustainable product packaging and a circular business model is part of the ethos.

Commercial kitchen

On the same site as the retail shop, our commercial kitchen supports the development of skills in food preparation, cooking, hygiene, and commercial dishwashing, preparing trainees for potential careers in culinary fields.

Trainees are also responsible for stocking the shop with food to sell and repurposing unsold produce – the team makes and sells hangi every Friday.

Hothouse

Our hothouse hosts our herbarium. Training involves planting, plant care, propagation, and preparation for sale, with sustainable horticulture practices taught.

The herbarium is just out of town in Maunu.

Coffee

Barista training is provided to all trainees at Taimahi Fresh+, through the coffee station in our retail shop. This equips trainees with coffee brewing and making techniques, equipment operation skills, and customer interaction practice, preparing trainees for roles in cafes or coffee shops. The sale of our own brand coffee gives the opportunity to experience packing and distribution.

Administration

Skills in operations administration, purchasing, inventory, customer service, social media, and promotion are developed through our administration team.

Our special Sauce

We don’t just create tantalisingly good sauces in our kitchen. Our innovative approach with our trainees has all the ingredients of a delicious recipe – it’s what makes Taimahi Trust so unique.

Personal development and soft skills training is a staple of our program. This includes working with a supervisor, teamwork, communication, people skills, problem-solving, self-regulation and time management. While developing such skills is nothing new, they are often overlooked when it comes to growing young adults with intellectual and learning disabilities. It’s one of the reasons why our program is not a quick turnaround. We take the time to make sure that we get this right together.

We utilise the PERMA model, focusing on building positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishments. A lot of the work is undoing mindsets and learned behaviour. This emphasis on positive psychology focuses on the holistic development of our trainees.

Supervisors are taught to model the Pygmalion effect – having high expectations and belief in people, and celebrating when they achieve things. People are given skills to move from unhelpful thinking to helpful thinking, for example how to move from feeling overwhelmed or wanting to be rescued to being self-motivated and resilient.

Like the sound of what we do? If you’re a person with an intellectual or learning disability, or their whanau, and are interested in joining our training program or finding out more, then get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.