Online Reporter
Trust Freddy in Chipinge
Herald Correspondent
LISTED agricultural concern, Ariston Holdings Limited, which mainly produces tea and macadamia nuts, now employs over 1 600 people at peak season, predominantly from Chipinge, driving transformation in Manicaland Province through job creation.
This comes as the firm enhances its social corporate responsibility, with its Shakavanhu Primary School in Ward 8, Chipinge District, Manicaland Province, benefiting over 500 learners, including some from as far as Mozambique.
The company is also driving Education 5.0 by providing knowledge to at least 20 students on internship from various institutions, with some permanent workers having been with the company for over 35 years.
Speaking during a media tour over the weekend, Engineer Gibbs Manyukwa, head of Engineering at Ariston Holdings, said they employ over 1 600 people, mainly from Manicaland, during peak season at Southdown Estate in Chipinge.
“Our labour complement is around 900 for now because we are off-peak, but during the peak season we are having a labour complement of 1 400 to 1 600 employees,” Eng Manyukwa said.
“Our labour constitution is 40 percent females and 40 percent males. We draw all our labour from our neighbourhood, mostly here in Manicaland and for specialised operations we recruit from far and wide but we recruit from across the country. We have also students who are here on attachment from all the institutions.”
Eng Manyukwa was also optimistic that both tea and macadamia production will remain in safe hands over the next 30 years, given that the company’s training programmes equip students with practical skills that are often not taught at institutions.
Ms Barbra Samutsa, Macadamia field manager, with over 14 years experience at the company, alongside Eng Manyukwa and Woeshik Mangezi, factories manager, are all part of the locally skilled personnel steering the factory, which handles the value addition of over 1 000 tonnes of bulk tea.
