A Kyiv bakery Good Bread From Good People is famous, but not for its pastry.
This is the first bakery in Ukraine that employs people with mental disabilities.
Its founder Vladyslav Malashchenko used to work with people with mental disabilities as a curative teacher. That’s when he saw that even when they can finish school or college, they struggle to get a job.
So Malashchenko decided to start a business where people with varying degrees of mental disability can work.
Kirill Smereka, a baker in Good Bread from Good People bakery, cooks pastry on Jan. 18. (Volodymyr Petrov)
Most of the bakery’s employees have what is called a developmental disability, which is a chronic condition that is usually detected in childhood. Some have autism-related disorders. Some have problems with counting, logic and memorization.
According to Malashchenko, there are about 180,000 people with various disabilities in Kyiv.
“No one needs those people except for their parents and rehabilitation centers,” he says.
“Parents understand that after they die there are two options for their child: a psychiatric ward or a nursing home – and neither of them is good.”
According to the Ministry of Social Policy, in Ukraine there are 1.5 million people with disabilities of working age, and only half of them are employed. But even that is an inflated number: often, employers hire those people only on paper for tax benefits.
Evhen Hralchuk, a baker in Good Bread from Good People bakery, cooks pastry on Jan. 18. (Volodymyr Petrov)
Employment challenges
At first, Malashchenko wanted to go into carpentry, but then decided to choose something less dangerous. In September, he opened Good Bread From Good People, a delivery-only bakery.
Today it employs 13 people, seven of whom with mental disabilities.
One of them is Mykhaylo Plakhotnyuk, 32, the bakery’s delivery person.
The last time he had a job was several years ago. He was getting paid to clean the yard of a children’s cultural center, but a manager fired him after finding out that he had an intellectual disability.
Since then, Plakhotnyuk was unsuccessfully looking for a job – each attempt he describes in details with an almost cracking voice – until he came to the bakery in December. Here, he delivers pastries to the clients using public transport. He dreams that one day, he will be allowed to drive.
Guide baker
Oksana Smereka, 46, is the bakery’s managing baker. Her job is to guide the employees with mental disabilities in the kitchen.
She said that Plakhotnyuk’s employment struggle is far from unique. She herself has a 22-year-old son Kyrylo, who has a mental disability and also works at the bakery.
One of the problems, according to Smereka, is that teachers at schools and colleges often don’t train people with mental disabilities to make things on their own. She said that those who receive diplomas of a cook or a baker often don’t know how to bake a bun because their teachers only gave them very simple work such as kneading the dough.
Smereka took the job of a managing baker at Good Bread From Good People in October, after the bakery changed four bakers. Malashchenko recalls that it was tough time when he almost closed the business, because bakers couldn’t get along with his employees.
But luckily, Smereka came on board.
She was able to organize production and divide tasks among the workers. Smereka is also working on broadening the bakery’s menu. Now it offers six options of fruitcakes: pear, carrot, chocolate-banana, carrot-pumpkin, lemon, orange-ginger, as well as banana and pumpkin jam.
Moving ahead
Malashchenko said that while people usually order his pastry only to help people with mental disabilities, they often continue buying it for its taste. In the future, he wants to sell jams abroad, because they can be stored for a long time.
Now, Malashchenko plans to open a second business in May – an inclusive restaurant that employs people with mental disabilities.
He says that people ordering cakes almost don’t communicate with people with mental disabilities, but in the restaurant they will be able to speak to them and understand them.
Meanwhile, the bakery is looking for new workers and corporate clients to develop and create more workplaces.
Its workers are developing their skills too and Smereka proudly says that her kitchen team is growing fast. Now they are able to follow recipes but still have problems with measuring the right amount of ingredients or calculating the baking time.
She adds that her team members with disabilities seem happier and more confident than when they first joined the bakery because they can fulfill their potential.
“Of course, experts say that real improvements require more time, but I notice the progress,” she said. “If only in four months they became able to work as a team – it’s already a small victory.”
A pastry from Good Bread from Good People bakery that employs people with mental disabilies. (Volodymyr Petrov)
Editor’s Note: This article is a part of the “Journalism of Tolerance” project by the Kyiv Post and its affiliated non-profit organization, the Media Development Foundation. The project covers challenges faced by sexual, ethnic and other minorities in Ukraine, as well as people with physical disabilities and those living in poverty. This project is made possible by the support of the American people through the U. S. Agency for International Development and Internews. Content is independent of the donors.
To order pastry from Good Bread from Good People go to goodbread.tilda.ws or call +38-099-273-9438.
