Born with dwarfism, Bhairappa was bullied his whole life. Despite attending over 70 job fairs organised for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), he could not land a job as he had difficulty brushing his teeth and wearing shoes. Today, he leads a team of seven at MITTI Café, and is happily married to Roopa (also a person with disability), who he met at MITTI Café.
 
32-year-old Damini who has Down Syndrome, had always wanted a job right from the time she observed her father going to work as a child. After gaining experience and training at MITTI Café as a Customer Happiness Representative, Damini today also works at Dunzo.


These are just a few of the success stories that make MITTI Café what it is today. Mitti Café is a chain of cafes that provides experiential training and employment to adults with physical, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. Mitti Cafés across India are managed by hundreds of adults with disabilities who have even cooked and served over 4 million meals to the poor and vulnerable communities and homeless groups during the pandemic.

“We currently have 16 cafés in  public spaces as well as operate cafés within institutional spaces where we have a captive audience and an opportunity to sensitise and spread awareness about the abilities of persons with disabilities. MITTI has been featured in the Forbes list of 30 under 30, has been awarded by the United Nations, Niti Ayog, and UNESCO, amongst others for its impact work,” says Alina Alam, Founder, MITTI Café.

It was in August 2017 that Mitti Café established its first outlet at Deshpande Foundation on the campus of B.V.B College of Engineering and Technology, Hubli. According to Alina, getting funded and establishing a proper supply chain were two of the biggest initial challenges she faced.

“I was 23, at university, and waiting for placements when something extraordinary happened that changed my life. One of my professors shared with me a documentary that gave me a reality check. He introduced me to a man who changed my life. His name was Nero,” recalls Alina, adding “Nero was an emperor in the Roman Empire. Mighty, rich and winning wars one after the other. One day he won the biggest battle of his life. He decided to celebrate by throwing a party and inviting everyone that mattered. Once evening befell, they needed light. He decided to burn waste to generate light.. He decided to burn those he felt were insignificant and equivalent to waste - the prisoners of war.”

This story left a lasting impression on Alina. It led her to the realisation that there is a problem with mainstream society’s perception about people with disabilities who are in many ways regarded as ‘Nero’s prisoners of war’. She was determined to create a model that was visible, tangible, interactive and which could create awareness about  inclusion. A model that could create role models with the potential to inspire the world.

“‘Mitti’ means mud. The reason we went with this name is because despite us being so diverse in terms of religion, race, ideologies, geography and gender - we all come from mud and to mud we shall return. It signifies unity in diversity that we truly believe in.”- Alina.

With strong support from the community and thousands of donors who have contributed to their cause, The MITTI family has grown in leaps and bounds. Their chain currently comprises 16 cafés in Bangalore and 3 cafés in Kolkata, where training is provided for the people with disability in the field of retail marketing so that they can have a source of income and livelihood. Training per person comes up to approximately INR 19,000/-. Meals are also provided in the areas of Sundarbans, Bangalore and Kolkata to the migrant workers, and ration is also distributed. 


Even though she has achieved so much, Alina does not want to stop with this feat; she wants to impact more people with disabilities and change their lives for the better.

“We aim to open new cafes across India. But the approximate cost of setting up a cafe ranges from INR 15 lakh to 30 lakh . In addition to this, our operational costs are mounting. Cumulative salary of the 138 persons with disability employed across the 19 cafes comes up to more than INR 10 lakh per month and training comes up to INR 9.5 lakh. We need your active support to continue creating a bigger impact by proving to the world that disability is never an impediment to success.” - Alina.

With your constant and valued support, MITTI café can be opened in every nook and corner of the country, inspiring future generations.