Tanyaradzwa Tizora
A Masvingo student who graduated with a Diploma in Education from Masvingo Teachers’ College on Thursday 19 October was awarded by the school for embracing education 5.0 initiative after embarking on a massive tree grafting project.
Josias Chatikobo who was attached at Dunuza Primary School in Chiredzi for his teaching practice (TP) turned theory into practice and embarked on a lucrative business through grafting and selling fruit trees, was awarded by the college with a cash prize, printer, laptop, a wheelbarrow, shovels and other farming equipment.
Speaking to TellZim News, Chatikobo said the project he started in 2021 was paying off and has a number of customers in and outside Zimbabwe saying he has grafted more than 10000 trees.
“I started the project of grafting and selling fruit trees such as mango trees, lemon trees and orange trees when I was on my teaching practice at Dunuza Primary School in Chiredzi in 2021,” he said.
Chatikobo now boasts of having customers from within and outside Zimbabwe. He has grafted a total of 10 000 trees and this has changed livelihoods for many who are trading in this business hence creating an upper middle income society.
He said what began as a fulfillment of his course requirement has now grown into a big business which has changed his life.
“I have grafted the Washington navel (orange tree variety), tommy atkins (mango tree variety), Irwin (mango tree variety) and avocado tree variety. These are the trees that are on demand on the market and as a result they are being exported,” said Chatikobo.
Besides fruit trees, Chatikobo says he has also grafted 400 Cuban royal palms which are ready for sale.
