February 23-25 marked the inagural tour, post listing, for Tanganda’s new Board of Directors.
CEO, Tim Fennell, welcomed the Directors at a brief breakfast held at Gomondoni Lodge, mid morning on Wednesday 23 February.
The group then travelled to Jersey and toured the Macadamia and Coffee plantations, where the hosting Estate Manager Sherrington explained the cropping operations and agronomic practices.
The Directors also enjoyed a passing visit to new irrigation storage dam under construction. (Pictured on the left).
A brief tour to the JV showcasing the new venture of Macadamia and Coffee was completed before moving onto the Jersey Solar plant for a detailed explanation of the capacity and operations of the cost-saving modern power plant.
The team passed through the Tea Factory with the process being explained to them by the Estate Manager and Factory Manager.
Wednesday afternoon saw the Directors have a brief visit of Zona Estate.
While time did not allow for an extended tour of Zona, the Board was able to witness the ride-on plucking units in operation at Zona. (Pictured on the Left).
On the morning of Thursday 24 February, the Directors’ tour group travelled to NYG Estate where they were shown the Coffee roasting operation, Macadamia roasting and processing for retail, the export Tea Warehouse, operations at Central Workshops and Central Bulk Stores.
The Central workshop can be seen pictured on th left.
The New Macadamia Drying and Processing facility was up next.
A drive through the plantations with a brief from Estate Manager, Willis Gutu, followed, before the tour continued onto Tingamira Estate
At Tingamira, the group started at the avocado packshed, where the avocado packing process was explained by the Agricultural Manager (Avos), Lincoln.
The group then toured the Tingamira solar facility where they were shown the various components. At the site, the team was briefed on the immediate plans to harness solar power to the water-bottling facility.
Field discussions on mature crops were done during the afternoon tour at Ratelshoek estate.
The group also visited the Chipita-weir irrigation pumping system where explanations were made on how this was to add value to the business
Late on Thursday afternoon, the group toured through Ratelshoek plantations observing the new plantings as well as the irrigation scheme and pruning practices. Cover crops and Integrated Pest Management programs were explained in the field.
Overall it was a progressive visit with many questions answered.