Under the epidemic, the unemployment rate has not yet returned to the lowest level, and it is more difficult for the disadvantaged to find employment. Some organizations concerned about the blind have opened the first social enterprise restaurant in Hong Kong that combines coffee brewing and massage services for the blind. It will officially open next month for the visually impaired. People provide diversified employment opportunities.
There are visually impaired baristas with less than 20% of their eyesight. During the epidemic, they worked as Food Panda takeaways, waiters, and delivery. However, because of amblyopia, they are slower than people. Now they can be adjusted by touch and hearing through training. A cup of qualified coffee, hoping to let the outside world see that "the blind people don’t have to do all the work."
The visually impaired barista Zi Lang feels the heat from the surface of the milk froth cup with his hands, and knows whether the milk froth is qualified when poured into the coffee.
(Photo by Mo Jiawen)
Visually impaired people hard to find job opportunities under the epidemic
"If you hear two mouthfuls of milk foam, it is Latte, and three mouthfuls of milk foam is Cappuccino, but if it is not hot enough, the milk foam will turn into milk." 28-year-old Zi Lang touched her hand while making coffee in the brewing room. The heat radiating from the outside of the stainless steel cup with milk foam says so.
With severe congenital amblyopia, he only has less than 20% vision. He can only vaguely perceive light, darkness and color. If he wants to see the text clearly, he has to "sniff the face", with his eyes close to 2 to 3 cm away from the target. You can read the words clearly inside. In the past, you could only look for jobs that didn’t depend on your ability, including waiters, delivery workers, and even food panda takeaways. However, compared with ordinary people, they were relatively weak. "Take a takeaway order and use blind people. Go to the scene with a dedicated voice call and confirm the location when you are ready. Others will finish the order early in the morning, and it will definitely be slower than others.” Since the labor market does not have many opportunities for the visually impaired, we can only do it while looking for a suitable one. Work.
Until July of this year, the Hong Kong Association for the Blind held a barista training course. After completion, he will conduct an internship at the social enterprise "Xiu Cafe" in Xiyuanli, Xiyingpan. Zilang loves coffee and wants to change, so he decided to sign up. He has become one of the hired baristas and has been working in the store since August. He is responsible for pressing the coffee powder, filling the machine, pouring the milk into the cup and heating, frothing, and latte. Gradually get started before the opening of the month, let customers drink a qualified heart-shaped Latte Latte, let outsiders know that "it turns out that blind people do not come and go as masseurs and operators."
Deputy Store Manager: Visually impaired students are more active in doing their jobs
Another visually impaired barista, Zhu Zai, only has less than 30% eyesight. He has worked as a deliveryman, electronics factory worker, post-production and other types of work. In the past, he was "more on the machine than on the person", and it was difficult to have face-to-face contact with the outside world. But now after finishing the coffee brewing work, you can immediately see the customer's reaction, "When you make a good cup of coffee, the customer is satisfied with the drink, and I feel satisfied when I see it."
In addition to more than a dozen visually impaired baristas taking turns to work at the "Xue Cafe", which employs visually impaired employees, there are also head and deputy store managers taking turns to supervise. Carina, the female deputy store manager, said that she had previously worked for a chain restaurant group and found that visually impaired baristas need a long time. Apart from time familiarity with the process, it is not much different from ordinary employees. She will observe from the side and give guidance in a timely manner before delivering the finished product to the customer. In turn, she praises the visually impaired employees for being more active and dedicated to work, willing to learn and do. If you do, I will ask, I really want to make a cup of coffee."
The restaurant officially opened in September after trial operation, with resident masseurs
The director general of the Hong Kong Association for the Blind, Ko Brigitte, said that the concept of "rest Cafe" originated from the fact that the visually impaired masseurs were unable to open their stores during the epidemic, so they set up massage vouchers for sale and arranged for the visually impaired masseurs to provide them at different locations. Services and income protection. On the other hand, it was discovered that the trainees who graduated from the coffee training course under the Association of Advancement Association could not be matched and employed in other coffee shops, so they successfully applied for funding from the Social Welfare Department through the "Entrepreneurship and Talent Development" program and opened it in Xiyuanli, Xiyingpan. A social-enterprise restaurant that also provides blind massage and coffee brewing services for the visually impaired. It will start trial business this month on the weekend. The response is good. It will be fully opened in September. It is believed that the two services and the minimalist design of the venue will serve the guests. Provide a space for leisure and slow work, and have confidence in gaining market support.
"Xiu Cafe" is open from Tuesday to Sunday at 11 am and 8 pm from September to Sunday. In addition to providing general dining and charter services, it also cooperates with One Boxing Library. Thursday is set as a spiritual massage day. Free books are placed in the Japanese rest area for on-site guests. For borrowing, there are also masseurs on site from Friday to Sunday who accept appointments and instant massages. Those who are interested can call 3611 9693 for enquiries.
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