Jim White joins NZ Winegrowers board
Jim White has been elected to the New Zealand Winegrowers board following a levy class director by-election in July.
Nineteen years on, this stalwart of the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme is setting up a store on his small home island of Pele, with a $5,000 interest free loan from Cloudy Bay's Good Pick Fund, in association with the Village to Village Charitable Trust. "I am thinking big, not small," says Ben, whose plans include getting a Starlink connection, expanding his food stall, and adding a hardware wing to save locals a long and costly journey to Port Vila for supplies. He also wants to offer a small café, along with a boarding house and canteen to support the nearby school. He will pay his initial loan back within two years, so another recipient can launch their business, but plans to then apply for another loan to take his plans to the next level.
That's the kind of entrepreneurial planning Cloudy Bay wants to encourage, building positive spinoffs for RSE workers, their families and their wider communities, says Cloudy Bay Technical and Sustainable Development Director Jim White, who is also a Village to Village trustee. Jim, who spoke to several RSE worker groups about the Good Pick programme in December, is hoping to see more small businesses seeded, with recipients matched up with Cloudy Bay mentors to help develop business plans and loan applications. He'd also like to see other New Zealand horticultural companies launch programmes to support the communities of RSE workers they have relied on for the past 20 years, including by emulating the Good Pick initiative. He'd also like to see other New Zealand horticultural companies launch programmes to support the communities of RSE workers they have relied on for the past 20 years, including by emulating the Good Pick initiative. "If businesses want to make a positive difference, this is a good way to do it," he says.
Inaugural Good Pick recipient Allain Liu-Vitivae is busy establishing his chicken farm on Ambae Island, while Karl Ieuis from Tanna Island, has used his loan to buy a portable freezer, solar panels, inverter and battery, in order to add frozen meat to the store he runs with his wife. Meanwhile, a worker from Ambrym is part way through building a guest house, and is keen to access the loan scheme to enable him to complete the work and start tapping into tourism.
Ben was one of the first RSE workers to come to New Zealand for seasonal work, and the first from Pele, following the scheme's 2006 introduction. His first winter season was in Central Otago, but most of his seasonal work has been in Marlborough vineyards, and for the past year at Ormond Nurseries in Blenheim, meaning he's worked in every aspect of vineyard work.
Helen Neame has known Ben for 18 years, having forged a friendship during her time working in pastoral care role at Seasonal Solutions. She retired a few years ago, but on learning about the Good Pick fund in 2025, sat down with a handful of RSE workers she knew would be a great fit.
Helen is also friends with Ben's wife Leipakoa, and has visited them on Pele, so knew the impact his business plan would have on the family, and their wider community. Ben's enterprising spirit and long tenure in the scheme makes him a perfect recipient, she says. Free education is only available up to Year 6 in Vanuatu, and Helen has also helped Village to Village deliver several scholarships a year to Eratap Central School.
A few years ago Ben's 22-year-old son Steven came over with him, and hit the ground running thanks to his father's guidance. When he gets home this summer, Steven will use his second year of earnings to build a house on Pele, Ben says. Speaking to me just days before he flew home to launch his business, Ben says when he returns to Marlborough for next year's season, he's keen to share his learnings with other RSE workers with exciting business ideas.
Seasonal Solutions Pastoral Care Coordinator Sophie Palmer visited Ben and his family in Vanuatu over the summer, and says the impacts of the RSE scheme on the community are "incredibly" positive, "with income earned overseas being invested locally into housing, schools, small businesses, and community projects such as infrastructure."
