The first cafe employing people with Down syndrome is set to open in the Polish city of Kraków this month. It aims to help adults with the condition become more independent and develop their social skills.
“Our employees have been training in local cafés, polishing their barista skills,” wrote the cafe. “We believe that the creation of more such places will contribute to improving the quality of life of our workers, as well as broadening their competences.”
The cafe – called Społeczna Kaffka – is the latest project by Społeczna 21, a nonprofit social company that aims to create jobs for people with Down syndrome. Proceeds from its activities are invested back into training and treatment for its employees.
The company, which currently employs 12 people with disabilities on a permanent basis, already runs an online handicraft shop and a food truck selling French fries. In 2021, it won the Małopolska province’s award for social entrepreneurship.
Społeczna 21 had been hoping to open the new cafe earlier, but was forced to delay the plans due to rising costs amid Poland’s highest inflation in 25 years. They launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the project, and it has already exceeded its 25,000 zloty target.
The cafe has received funding from Kraków’s municipal authorities, which also provided premises for it.
Recent years have seen a number of cafes employing disabled people open in Polish cities, including Pożyteczna in Warsaw, Café Równik in Wrocław and cieKAWA Kawiarnia in Gdańsk.
In these establishments, people with disabilities are assisted by people without disabilities, who, however, are in a minority. The foundations behind them say that independent work is a kind of therapy for disabled people, helping them overcome fears, feel needed, and find meaning in life and prospects for the future.
The Pożyteczna foundation, which was established by three families of disabled children, also points out that the professional independence of people with disabilities will help them to secure a good life even after the death of their parents, so they are “not doomed solely to receive benefits and live in a nursing home”.
Main photo credit: Społeczna Kaffka/Facebook
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
