Mitti Cafe

There are an estimated 21 million persons with disabilities in India, of whom only about 0.1% are employed currently in industries. The International Labour Organization's 2011 report on Persons with Disability (PWD) states that 73.6% of disabled in India are still outside the labour force. Currently, available evidence shows that lack of employment opportunities along with a gap in employability due to inadequate skilling opportunities is a significant problem, which causes concern among working-age adults with disability. Of these, women with disabilities are the most vulnerable, having to battle biases due to gender norms, societal restrictions, unequal pay, safety issues that in turn affect their chances of seeking employment or getting employed.

According to the 2011 World Report on Disability by the World Health Organisation/World Bank, there are an estimated 1 billion persons with disabilities worldwide. The same report states that 1 in 5 of the world’s poorest people have disabilities. Disability is both a cause and consequence of poverty, yet international policymakers and stakeholders have not historically recognized or prioritized this issue within international development efforts.

MITTI Cafe, as a part of its livelihood development initiative for the economic independence and dignity of persons with disability, aims at providing training, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for adults with intellectual, physical and multiple disability through the creation of training cafes within institutional spaces. Majority of the candidates with disabilities trained or employed by Mitti come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, who have either dropped out of, or never attended school.

MITTI helps in bridging the significant gaps that differently-abled individuals face towards transitioning into an environment that provides them with a gainful livelihood opportunity along with dignity and self-worth. These Cafes are unique as they are designed as platforms for the differently-abled communities to showcase their potential for productive activity and to create awareness for the cause of equal opportunities in employment. By engaging persons with disability, we believe that they would act as agents of change by example and thereby promote a system of self-sustenance and wellness through our unique livelihood development initiative, at the same time enable the promotion of disability inclusion within work spaces.