Joyeux solidarity and inclusive café opens on Tuesday in Lisbon
Café Joyeux was born in France in 2017 with the aim of testing an inclusive restaurant concept in which all meal processes, communication and service are carried out. to think about promoting the autonomy of people with intellectual and developmental difficulties, such as trisomy 21 or autism.
The first space in Portugal results from an agreement between the association and the Émeraude Solidaire Foundation for the development of the brand’s ‘franchising’.
Speaking to Lusa agency, Filipa Pinto Coelho, from Associação VilacomVida, explained that the project is only possible due to fundraising from society and companies, at the level of patronage and private donors.
“There are many people, young people in this condition who finish school, who do not have an adequate solution included for the resources they have, to have a job”, he referred.
According to Filipa Pinto Coelho, the profits from the operation will fully revert to the opening of more cafe-restaurants and, thus, to the employability of more people: “Coffee will be a social business that allows for the sustainability of our mission in the short term . The profit generated here will be used to open more cafes, “he said.
This, he underlined, will be “the first company in Portugal that, instead of training to hire, hires to train people with intellectual difficulties, without professional experience or training”.
The president of Associação VilacomVida, a private social solidarity institution (IPSS) created in 2016 with the objective of creating positive communication and bringing society closer to difference, said that people are hired, signing an indefinite contract.
“They have their salary in progression to the national salary depending on the hours they work, an average of four / five hours. In addition, they have a completely free training course for them with three levels of autonomy, which can go up to two or three years of the Joyeux School, and that it is certified in France and we are trying to certify here”, he said.
Filipa Pinto Coelho highlighted that nine people with disabilities and three restaurant professionals will be hired for this first café in Portugal – in the kitchen area, manager and store supervisor – who will team up with the young people and teach four main functions: table service, barista, cashier and kitchen.
There is no final training, he stressed, young people can look for work elsewhere or stay working in the café.
The association had already developed a pilot project, Café ComVida, which was open for 18 months in Santos, Lisbon, but which had to close due to the covid-19 pandemic. Joyeux.
“Many of these young people were drawn from this experience, others receive it through the initiative of contact by family members who have heard about the project, and still others through recruitment that we network with other institutions that work with these young people”, he emphasizes.
The association’s intention is to open more cafes, hoping to create an average of 10 jobs in each one: “We want to open nationally. The idea is to open at least five cafes in five years, we also want to be in the North, in Porto. this one on Tuesday and we are going to open the second in Cascais, a project that is already under construction licensing, which we aim to open at the end of the first half of 2022. “
Café Joyeux de Lisboa will be open from Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, at number 26 on Calçada da Estrela.
“We have breakfast services, lunches with seasonal products cooked on site by these young people and adapted to their resources. We will have quiches, salads, a hot plate, a range of snacks and snacks at the end of the day for an end to the day in style. delicious and inclusive, “said the rep.