Blindiana Barista Coffee Shop is a well-known landmark in Church Street, Worcester, and that is where you will find Joseph Matheatau behind his espresso machine making the perfect cappuccino. South Africa’s first blind Barista.
A quaint coffee shop that employs blind and partially sighted staff as part of the programme run by Innovation for the Blind – a non-profit organisation that trains and empowers the blind.
WHO IS JOSEPH MATHEATAU?
Joseph was not born blind, but lost his sight in his left eye at the age of three. Through the years his sight in his right eye also deteriorated to such an extent that he was unable to attend school.
Joseph finally lost his vision in his late twenties and was then faced with a long period of suffering and enormous challenges.
Now Joseph brews his coffee at the Blindiana Barista, South Africa’s first blind museum and coffee shop. Despite not having the sense of sight, he uses his other senses to navigate this delicate process to produce the perfect cup of coffee for customers.
MENU
Enjoy a delicious traditional breakfast as you sip on a cappuccino made by Joseph. Brunch and lunch items include freshly made salads, wraps and rolls, hearty burgers and a variety of toasties. Other specialities are Dagwood rolls, nachos and chicken pops.
Blindiana Barista, 134 Church Street, Worcester, is open weekdays from 08h00 – 17h00.
BLINDIANA WINE
It has a beautiful wine label called The Blind Tasting with braille displaying on it as well. It is a red blend bottled by KWV for Blindiana.
Close your eyes and open your mind. What’s more powerful? Your perception or your reality? Tasting a wine blind is the only way to formulate an unbiased opinion. Any pre-conceived knowledge that you have about the wine can cloud your judgement. So take the challenge, close your eyes, open your mind and enjoy the blind tasting with friends, whilst testing your senses and your knowledge of wine.
INNOVATION FOR THE BLIND
Innovation for the Blind, formerly known as Institute for the Blind, is a registered non-profit organisation that has been providing care, skills training and job creation to visually impaired adults for over 137 years. They provide various projects to assust with skills development.
?GROUNDSKEEPING – 7 people is part of this project and sees to the overall aesthetics and tidiness of the grounds and gardens.
?MAINTENANCE – they assist with the upkeep and maintenance such as replacing a bulb or fix a tap that is leaking.
?COFFEE PROJECT – They have partnered with Beans for Africa Coffee Roasters to established their very own Blindiana Blend – packed, labelled and distributed by visually impaired and multi disabled employees, thereby creating gainful employment in a sheltered environment. Coffee can be purchased at Checkers as well as Dischem.
?RADIO BROADCASTING – They have their own internal radio station and will talk about latest development, music, stories etc.
Innovation for the Blind has four homes:
• Ebenhaezer (care of adults with visual and additional disabilities)
• Huis de Villiers (care of male adults with visual disabilities)
• Huis Jack Pauw (care of ladies and married couples with visual disabilities)
• Huis Brevis (care of elderly with or without disabilities).
Contact Information
Telephone: 023 347 2745
Email: info@innovationfortheblind.org
Website: www.innovationfortheblind.org
Address: 132 Church Street, Worcester. 6850
Categories: Worcester
