2017-02-02Staff Report 2 John Muyamba Rundu-Born on 8 March, 1989, Christine Shimuketa has become a successful chicken breeder in Rundu and breeds chicks to mature chickens that she sells in the town. A business that started on 7 September 2016 with 100 chicks has now grown into a business with 1 000 chicks and 1 500 five-month-old chickens. “I sell to individual customers, restaurants and eateries,” Christine said. People in Rundu are being given a taste of ‘Vipanda Poultry’ product, chickens from Christine’s backyard. “What inspired me was when I was growing up at the village I loved birds, above all chickens, and when I travelled to South Africa, to a place near Stellenbosch, we visited a popular poultry farm - Country Fair - that breeds chickens on a commercial scale that are sold in supermarkets around Namibia. That inspired me to start my small chicken business and I’m loving it – and people are supporting me,” she said. Christine breeds Dorkings, Sussex, Brahma and various other breeds of chickens that she has sourced from other local breeders. Christine is a popular woman in Rundu and has been known for doing business since she has been a little girl at school – selling sweets and biscuits. Aside from breeding chickens, she is also a beauty therapist, beautician, and sells beauty products in and around Rundu. Christine furthermore breeds pigs at her home village at Nyangana, 110 km east of Rundu. “The only assistance I want now is equipment and a plot where I can expand my business. I want to expand my business to heights that will enable me to cater to the entire Namibia and produce a Namibian product that we will all take ownership of, my brand Vipanda Poultry. Vipanda means ‘praise’ in Nyemba language, and I want to make it a household name, just like Country Fair and other chicken brands in your local supermarket.” The young business-minded Christine is not only running her chicken business but is also studying towards a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Namibia, Rundu Campus, where she is in her first year. 2017-02-02Staff Report 2
