Dominic Ndigiti is among athletes who were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While precautionary measures such as social distancing disrupted physical activities, he went into construction of modern jikos to make a living for himself.
Here is Ndigiti’s story as told by WoK.
Interest
In an interview with Citizen Digital, Ndigiti disclosed that he developed interest in making modern jiko while in class 7.
He later perfected his skills after attending a training program organized by a group of visitors from Finland.
“I developed the interest of making the jikos even before I joined team Kenya. I took some time off and because of the intense training for various competitions,” he said.
Adding; “In 2019, a friend of mine informed me about a group of foreigners from Finland who were visiting Nyaore Polytechnic to train the youth on different skills that can be helpful in life.”
Modern jikos
Following the training program, Ndigiti started training people, especially women how to make the jikos.
“Most of my customers are women who love the kitchen. I have developed a great network and sometimes they come looking for me in groups for training at the cost of Ksh 300,” he said.
The Africa Under-20 10,000m race walking champion also makes jikos at a cost of between Ksh 1,000 to Ksh 4,500 depending on the location.
“If it’s within Kisii County and it’s a small jiko I will charge Ksh 1,000. For clients outside Kisii County it will cost Ksh 4,500,” Ndigiti said.
The athlete has served clients from various parts of the country including Eldoret, Nakuru, Nyeri, Mumias and Kisumu.
He has also worked with clients from abroad.
“What surprises me is that anytime I make a post on social media I get contacted even by clients from abroad. One time, someone from Texas placed an order for their Kenyan relatives,” Ndigiti said.
