How Assam tea is brewing job opportunities for disabled youths

On a hot and humid day in May, Manju Kumari, 30, patiently welcomes a steady flow of guests to a newly-opened café—overlooking the iconic Dighalipukhuri (a rectangular pond)—in Assam’s Guwahati.

In her crisply ironed uniform (lavender shirt and maroon skirt), Kumari, who originally hails from Lakhimpur district of the Northeastern state, greets everyone with a smile and a namaste. Then, she directs the patrons towards their seats in the tiny café specialising in famous Assam tea. All this initial interaction is done quietly, without Kumari uttering a single word.

After a while, visitors realise the “uniqueness” of the establishment when they read a blue-coloured card placed on their tables. It informs that specially-abled persons man the place. They have hearing impairment (deaf and hard of hearing).

Gitumoni Thakuria (26) and Labhita Nath (26) are two other colleagues of Kumari. They all have hearing impairment and have 70-80 per cent disability. Together they manage the kitchen, take orders, serve visitors tea and food and do accounting and billing.

Team Aromica Talking Fingers—Manju Kumari (extreme left), Labhita Nath and Ranjit Baruah (centre) and Gitumoni Thakuria (extreme right)—pose for a picture. Photos: Maitreyee Boruah

"They are as able and talented as any other 'normal' person," Ranjit Baruah, a former tea planter and the brain behind the cafeteria—Aromica Talking Fingers—told The Federal.

He added he decided to start his latest venture with specially-abled people as they have a lot of potential but no avenues. “It is a risk many would say but I have decided to take the plunge to follow inclusivity, diversity and equal opportunity for one and all.”

The place sells various "speciality and wellness teas" with snacks and desserts. It is called "Talking Fingers" as the workers use sign language to communicate.

Baruah, who started his brand, Aromica Tea, in 2019, by sourcing “the best of tea” from small growers of Assam, wanted to make a "strong statement with Assam's famous chai".

"Tea is a big leveller. Rich or poor, men or women...everyone loves a good and strong cup of tea. So why not let specially-abled people brew, sell and promote tea and create job opportunities for them simultaneously? They don't need my pity. All they need is support. I am giving them a platform and they are here to work hard and earn a livelihood,” said Baruah, who has hired five disabled people to date.

“Unfortunately, as I went on meeting people with various disabilities, I witnessed how they have been invisibilised by society as they are denied education and job opportunities. But their hunger and passion to work and be economically independent is immense," he added.

The entrance of the cafe.

Thakuria, Kumari and Nath are all graduates and have done various professional certificate courses. “I have also finished a certificate course in computers. Unfortunately, no prospective employer wants to hire me because of my disability,” Kumari said in sign language which Baruah translated for The Federal. “I had applied for so many government and private jobs, but was never even called for an interview,” she added.

Similar are the experiences of Thakuria and Nath, both from Assam's Nalbari district. They also tried to find a job after finishing their college education but without any success. While Nath was selling her embroidery work to earn, Thakuria did several modelling assignments. “It was demotivating not to be considered for a job after completing our education. We finished our education at a great cost because regular schools are not inclusive enough to provide us with aid, infrastructure and special educators.

"There are very few special schools for us and regular schools don't welcome disabled children. We have struggled hard to obtain our education as we studied in both regular and special educational institutions," said Thakuria and Kumari and Nath nodded in agreement.

India is home to around 2.68 crore persons with disabilities (1.5 crores are males and 1.18 crores are females), as per the 2011 census. This means around 2.21 per cent of the Indian population has one or another disability.

As Labhita Nath holds a placard, Manju Kumari and Gitumoni Thakuria ask a customer to revisit the cafe in sign language.

The employment rate of persons with disabilities is abysmal. According to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, at least "36 per cent of the total disabled persons are workers." "Among the male disabled persons, 47 per cent are working and among female disabled, only 23 per cent are working."

The educational level of disabled persons is better in urban areas compared to rural areas, both for males and females.

"In urban areas, 67 per cent of the total disabled persons are literate vis–a –vis 49 per cent in rural areas. In urban areas 20 per cent have matric/ secondary level education but below graduate and 10 per cent are graduate and above. While in rural areas, the corresponding figures are 10 per cent and 2 per cent respectively," stated the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

Although there is a four per cent reservation for persons with disabilities in education and employment under the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act), often they fail to land a job despite having qualifications and skills.

Disabled rights activist Saritha Gudeti from Hyderabad, Telangana said there needs to be a mechanism to provide education, skill-based training and jobs to disabled people on a priority basis. "Otherwise, they won't be able to come out from the shackles of poverty, discrimination and backwardness," she added.

The tea lounge visitors wave red and green placards to get assistance and bill.

Gudeti, 34, who was born with dwarfism, despite being a graduate and a badminton player with 12 gold medals under her belt, struggled for almost a decade to get a job with a private company. "Our abilities are ignored because we have one or other disability. This has to change," she said.

The RPWD Act has identified 21 disabilities. They are blindness, low-vision, leprosy-cured persons, hearing impairment (deaf and hard of hearing), locomotor disability, dwarfism, intellectual disability, mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, chronic neurological conditions, specific learning disabilities, multiple sclerosis, speech and language disability, thalassemia, haemophilia, sickle cell disease, multiple disabilities, acid attack victim and Parkinson's disease.

Baruah worked with Rupmani Chhetri, deaf rights advocate and co-founder and director of SignAble Communications, to hire employees for his tea parlour. SignAble Communications with the help of technology claims to be breaking communication barriers for the deaf.

Bengaluru-based Chhetri, who takes a special interest in providing training and helping hearing-impaired people find jobs as a part of her advocacy work, came to Guwahati and selected the candidates. Afterwards, she provided training to them.

"We trained our workers for one month. We taught them etiquette, service and customer care skills. They learnt to identify various types of tea like black, green, white and oolong. We focused on imparting lessons in blending, brewing and garnishing of tea. After all, tea is our USP (Unique Selling Proposition). They are also taught how to prepare rolls, noodles, pasta and other snacks. We source bakery items from a partner," said Baruah.

Amar Rai, the head chef of the tea bar, is an able-bodied person. He assists Kumari, Thakuria and Nath in all their work. To make communication with visitors easy, the cafe's menu has serial numbers along with the name of the food or beverage. "It is easier to communicate numbers with sign language. While our employees communicate with sign language, the patrons usually don't. But that is not a hindrance as most of us understand the basic sign language and our workers can do lip reading," said Baruah, who is learning sign language to interact with his team better.

On every table, there is a red and a green placard. Whenever a customer needs assistance, she can wave the red placard, and the green one to ask for the bill.

"As I love to sample tea, I visited the boutique. I had no prior idea that the employees here are specially-abled. For a moment, I was surprised. But when I saw them working so diligently, I was inspired. We need more such inclusive spaces," said Rani Bordoloi, a teacher in a private school in the city.

The blue-coloured card informs tea lovers about the uniqueness of the cafe. 

"I had masala tea and an egg roll. The tea was fabulous. I am planning to come here again with my friends," added Bordoloi, who came with her son on her first visit to the cafe. Some other popular beverages served in Aromica Talking Fingers are exotic green tea, jasmine green tea, chamomile green tea and malai masala tea, to name a few.

Specially-abled persons across India run several eateries. But this one claims to be Assam's first and it serves the state's most prized product, tea.

Expressing her happiness over receiving positive feedback from tea lovers, Nath giggled. "We have only received love and encouragement from all who came here to enjoy tea and snacks," she said in sign language.

Labhita Nath interacts with customers at the cafe in sign language.

The 26-year-old asked Bordoloi to revisit the cafe as she stood holding a pink placard that read, "Thank you for your visit. Please do come again." Standing along with Nath, Kumari and Thakuria expressed their happiness of hosting their guest in sign language.