At This Jharkhand Cafe, The Deaf Keep Business Running

Cafe La Gravitea in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur city is run by staff with hearing impairment. There are about 10 youths with similar conditions employed by the owner and offer a remarkable service. The staff is also involved in other chores, including cooking.

Owner Ashish Duggar quit his high-end paying job as a Vice-President in a steel company in 2015. He then opened a tea stall. Speaking to The New Indian Express, Duggar said the turning point and the motivation behind the initiative was a young man and his sister who had visited his tea stall. The girl had faced job rejections multiple times because of her hearing disability.

"After quitting my job, I wanted to do something for society. Meeting with the girl, I realized the opportunity was right in front of me and decided to open a café where all the employees will be hearing impaired," the media quoted him as saying.

After taking a few initial months to finalise the concept, he opened the cafe with 11 employees, of whom, ten are deaf. The cafe uses sign language for communication.

Braving The Odds

Duggar informed that initially, several challenges occurred as he faced difficulty in communicating with the staff, but in the next six months, he learned sign language and now helps the customers in communicating.

Duggar said the Café La Gravitea is considered the most sought-after eating joint in Jamshedpur, having more than 120 international varieties of tea and a welcoming staff to serve.

The cafe has received positive responses not from the locals but the prominent personalities. Jamshedpur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Suraj Kumar has lauded the staff and Duggar for their efforts to instill a sense of inclusion in society and is a lesson for entrepreneurs.

"There has always been a myth among the business class that only physically fit people could do a job efficiently, but the initiative taken by the owner of Café La Gravitea has defied it. They communicate in sign language, the menu is decided, everything is in writing, and hence, nobody has faced any problem there as everything runs efficiently," he added.

The cafe staff also got themselves vaccinated for COVID-19.

Image Credits: Facebook

Image Credits: Facebook

The cafe describes itself as a 'place for people passionate about Life, Adventure, Health, Tea with 'Creativitea' where DEAF people make every sip divine with their smile.'

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