Anew Hotel Hilton in the Midlands, KwaZulu-Natal, is piloting a wonderful new initiative called the Barista Project. The hotel has partnered with Ciro and Essential Deaf (eDeaf) to employ a hearing-impaired barista, Phumzile Mazibuko, who was born deaf.
Through The Ciro Coffee Academy Barista Project and Essential Deaf (eDeaf), Mazibuko was able to train to be a barista for internationally-accredited coffee shops.
To make her feel more comfortable in the hotel working environment, Essential Deaf sensitization training was completed with all staff at ANEW Hotel Hilton to encourage positive communication and a compassionate working environment for a deaf employee. Sign language training has begun and the team are embracing the challenge of learning a new language.
Through Ciro, hearing impaired people are able to become qualified baristas. The academy has also specifically designed sign language menus for seamless communication between patrons and baristas.
The Ciro Coffee Academy has designed specialised coffee courses to accommodate deaf baristas and all trainee baristas are taken through the Speciality Coffee Association modules which develop their knowledge and skills on the history of coffee machines and the coffee-making process.
Anew Hotel Hilton supports Ciro’s commitment to uplifting South Africa’s deaf community by promoting the training and development of accredited coffee shop baristas. The programme provides a great opportunity to improve the lives of the unemployed and under-skilled people in our deaf communities.
Phumzile Mazibuko. Image: ANEW Hotel Hilton
Image: Pexels
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