Inclusive Barista is a barista training program aimed at folks with both visible and non-visible disabilities, and they’re hoping to change the way coffee shops in Belarus hire, educate, and design their cafés.
BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos courtesy of Inclusive Barista
Seven years ago, Sasha Avdevich was in a motorbike accident and now uses a wheelchair to get around. Ever since his accident, he’s been working to make his home country, Belarus, more inclusive of those with both visible and non-visible disabilities, and last year he narrowed his goal toward the coffee industry. After he attended a coffee festival in Minsk, the idea for Inclusive Barista was created.
“We plan to teach more than 40 people with different kinds of disabilities (wheelchair users, people with autism, etc.) professional barista skills in 10 Belarusian towns and promote the idea of inclusion in Belarus,” shares Yuliya Voitsik, a group leader for Inclusive Barista. Like many organizations aimed at marginalized groups (most notably 1951 Coffee in Berkeley, Calif., which works with refugee communities), Inclusive Barista offers free espresso and coffee training to folks with disabilities and helps them find jobs in cities across Belarus. Trainings are hosted by Maxim Yashin and Tanja Yashina, SCA-trained baristas and owners of 9Bar, a full-service coffee company in Minsk. “They are very passionate about what they are doing and we are really happy we have them as ‘coffee trainers’ in our project,” Yuliya shares.
The first round of trainees got to show off their skills at CoffeeFest 2018 in Minsk, which was held in late March. Baristas served attendees of the event all day, and now are looking for permanent spots in cafés across the country. “We don’t want only to teach people with disabilities baristas skills,” Yuliya notes, “but we also want to promote the profession of the inclusive barista in Belarus.” Teaching baristas coffee skills is only half the battle, and Inclusive Barista also hopes to promote a more welcoming environment for folks with disabilities, from creating space for people in wheelchairs to modifying tools around the café. “Based on the experience we have gained so far, we can say that it’s actually not that complicated to make one’s café barrier-free and friendly for people with disabilities,” says Yuliya.
If you want to promote or—if you have a café in Belarus—hire a barista from the Inclusive Barista program, get in touch with the group on Facebook and spread the word to others. As of right now, the Inclusive Barista folks will continue to train folks around the country (they’re being funded by grants received from German and Swedish groups) and work to help them find jobs. And in the meantime, you can catch the inaugural group of trainees at the English Embassy in Belarus, where they will be making coffee in honor of the Queen’s Birthday.
