Things are changing in Ōpōtiki.
Three years ago it was known as the homicide capital of New Zealand - one homicide for every 1000 people. There were high levels of deprivation, unemployment, and crime.
But one industry that opened a new factory last year is doing its best to turn all that around.
It's a mussel processing facility that is creating jobs and purpose, and is using cutting-edge technology to encourage people off the dole and into work.
Ōpōtiki in the eastern Bay of Plenty is picture-perfect with its pristine beaches and sweeping landscapes. But it's the new employment and economic landscape that's exciting the proud tight-knit community of 9000.
Helena Coughlan works as a forklift operator at Whakatōhea Mussels, the country's first open-ocean mussel farm. It's providing plenty of jobs and purpose.
In December 2019, the company employed 13 people and a year later, this increased to 17. By December 2021, this jumped to 130 employees and today it sits at 191.
"It's pretty awesome. Amazing experience being a part of this new factory. A bit of history for Ōpōtiki," Coughlan said.
Coughlan left Ōpōtiki after school but returned to work at the company's new $37 million factory when it opened about 15 months ago.
"For a lot of whānau and young rangatahi like us, [we can] get more experience for mahi. And there is better opportunities outside of Ōpōtiki but with this factory, there is more opportunities to stay here. You don't have to move away from home when there is something here," Coughlan said.
The mussel farm is aiming to employ 280 people - all locals - by 2025. Current staff said they are well looked after, given a cooked lunch every day, and receive regular medical checks and first aid training.
They are also trained on-site using VR headsets, which is part of an initiative supported by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).
It's new and innovative and it's helped ease the nerves of first-time workers.
"So people could actually put on the goggles or headset and actually feel and see what the movement is like, what the environment is like to work in, what it felt like to be in this exact environment, and to create some excitement and take away the nervousness about people going into work in a high-tech factory for the first time," said MSD industry partnerships director Amanda Nicolle.
Whakatōhea Mussels CEO Peter Vitasovich said it's a game-changer.
"So for us, we were able to train a lot of people very quickly using those headsets. And it became very evident that if it wasn't their cup of tea, they would say, 'We don't want to do this'. But it became really evident as we were training them, moving them through, that they wanted to do this job," he said.
Some, they said, come from families of multi-generational unemployment, so it was initially difficult to get people on board with the new factory and technology.
"People often don't understand what work entails, especially in a high-tech environment like this," Nicolle said.
But now the town is embracing the opportunity and equality.
"I do love my job," one worker at Whakatōhea Mussels said. "It's a happy place, everyone is all the same, treats each other the same - whakawhanaungatanga or aroha."
Nicolle said people are seeing potential in Ōpōtiki.
"They are seeing there is opportunity, people are coming home from the cities, it's an awakening of the sleeping giant really."
It's a classic rags-to-riches story. When the company began in 2014, there were no vessels, no infrastructure, and no employees.
Today, it's a multi-million-dollar company, with the new factory and the off-shore mussel farm covering 3800 hectares and a growing number of local and international contracts.
"When we first started, we had horses tied up down the back, people were walking to work, and now if you look at our car park now, there's a lot of good cars there, We are making a difference and that work hasn't finished yet," Vitasovich said.
For Coughlan, work definitely hasn't finished. She's currently working on her apprenticeship and one day aims to be the boss here.
"Now I don't want to leave home."
