There is one cafe chain in Vietnam that stands out in particular. Kymviet cafe provides a new and heart-warming experience as diners, served by a team of hearing-impaired people, can order using sign language.

At Kymviet cafe, staff and customers use sign language to communicate. VNS Photo Minh Phuong

Without using words, a waitress bows her head to welcome customers to the cafe. She then offers them menus so they can place an order.

The menus are specially designed with sign language. Each drink has detailed sign instructions so customers can know how to use sign language to express their orders.

“We have created a lot of tools [such as menus] for employees with hearing-impairment to help them communicate with customers easier. Customers at our coffee shop can also try to order drinks using sign language," Pham Viet Hoai, CEO of the Kymviet complex, said.

“This is a new experience for them and, luckily, I’m very pleased that we have received a lot of positive feedback from customers.”

The menus are specially designed to show sign language. VNS Photo Minh Phuong

The cafe is one of the services provided at the Kymviet complex. The complex was established in 2013 to create job opportunities for the hearing-impaired community. It started with handicrafts made mainly from fabric, and now it is home to over 30 employees with hearing impairment.

To create more job options for the staff, the complex broadened its business to food and beverage services.

“Though we face challenges such as finding bartender instructors or translators who can use sign language, the staff here adapt to the job very quickly, so there are no major difficulties,” Hoai said.

Tran Ngoc Mai has worked in Kymviet for two and a half years. She made handicraft souvenirs when she started working at Kymviet but switched to becoming a barmaid.

She has been trained to prepare drinks, greet customers and deal with some unexpected situations or accidents at the cafe.

“Customers must use sign language to order coffee or other drinks from us as we are hearing and speech-impaired. We like it and want to thank them very much. I’ve been working here for two and a half years now. I'm thrilled to work here,” Mai said.

The chain now has three shops in Hanoi, and it provides jobs for eight hearing-impaired people. One cafe is on Trung Van Street, while the two others are on Nguyen Dinh Thi and Vo Chi Cong streets.

The staff take turns working at the three shops.

Employees are trained to prepare drinks and greet customers. VNS Photo Van Nguyen

Pham Vu Ha Anh, a student from FPT University, travels a long distance from home to the cafe. For her, though the cafe is served by the disabled, customers do not feel a sense of commiseration or charity. The cafe creates a valued atmosphere for people.

“I felt a bit awkward at first. But with the help of the staff, I found there are no difficulties for me when ordering," Anh said.

“People here are very friendly. Because all the staff here are disabled, it is a unique experience that I cannot find anywhere else.”

Vo Nhat Quang, a third-year student of FPT University, is impressed with the large space at the cafe.

“I see the space here is quite large. I find it very interesting when using sign language to order, and the waitress is very friendly. When I ask about sign language, she guides me very carefully,” he said.

There are more than 2 million hearing-impaired people in Vietnam. This is a potential workforce whose only barrier is communication. However, the barrier can be easily removed if the supporting means exist.

"In the future, we want to have more coffee shops in Hanoi, and maybe not only in Hanoi but also in other big cities such as Da Nang, Nha Trang or HCM City,” Hoai said.

“So hearing-impaired people in other provinces can also have the opportunity to get a job, have a better life and reduce the burden on their families and society.” 

Source: Vietnam News

Kym Viet was founded in late December 2013 by three people with disabilities – Pham Viet Hoai, Le Viet Cuong and Nguyen Duc Minh. Right from the outset, the trio proudly asserted that they were setting up shop like any other company that would market quality products consumers love, not one that “relied on the disability factor to seek compassion from buyers”.

Success did not come easily for such a company. Fortunately, the British Council has been working alongside Kym Viet almost since its inception. British Council has provided training activities and workshops on governance capacity for social enterprises, in addition to providing the company with moral support in the pursuit of their agenda of recognition based on quality of goods and services provided, rather than on the status of founders and employees as members of the disabled community.

When the British Council visited Kym Viet in 2014, the company’s premises – headquarters and workshop – was comprised of two rented rooms just a little larger than ten square metres. There were two employees, two basic sewing machines, one binding sewing machine and one iron brought from home. The company was running rather spontaneously, without close adherence to any formal professional standards.

Kym Viet chairman Pham Viet Hoai, said that training opportunities with the British Council helped professionalise his company. “Now we have standard operating procedures in place. For example, when we have an order coming in, everyone knows who will get the fabrics, who will do the binding, the cutting and sewing, and so on, as a matter of routine. We were not that disciplined in the past when people did whatever they preferred. It took more time, we were producing lower quality outputs and there was less professionalism.”

In terms of becoming more professional, Kym Viet has evolved over time. From its rented rooms in the early days, it moved to a one-story house about 50 square meters in size with a small yard. With more orders coming in, Kym Viet again moved to a new site in 2015 now with a workforce of seven or eight people. Toward the end of 2015, Kym Viet relocated again to its current headquarters, a four-storey complex with warehouse space, workshops, restrooms for employees, and an expanded staff of 18. 

With such progress, by 2015 Kym Viet was able to have its products certified as meeting “Quacert” / Vietnamese Standards Metrology and Quality Administration quality specifications. After acquiring this product quality validation, Kym Viet started to take on a wider range of purchase orders. Initially the three founding members had had only a single key sales channel – selling at trade fairs and sometimes earning only around VND500,000, – less than needed to cover basic food costs! As production capabilities started to increase, the range and size of buyers also increased, with clients now including a range of businesses from private souvenir shops to major companies such as Bibo Mart and Thang Long Aviation Services JS Co.

Today, Kym Viet does not have to worry about ‘making ends meet every day. Workers earn an average income of VND3.5 million a month, not to mention the fuel, bus fare and free lunch the company offers. Another success no less important to Kym Viet is what the company has done to change both society’s preconception of what people with disabilities can do to contribute, as well as how those with disabilities perceive their own potential. “Most of those who started here lacked confidence in their ability to fully commit to their roles and meet company expectations. But working here is not like some other places. We encourage our staff to really work and push themselves to succeed. Nowadays the families of those original employees can all see that their children have developed into confident and professional adults with strong work ethics – a positive change in both mind and behaviour,” said Pham Viet Hoai. 

In 2016, Kym Viet was presented with the Social Enterprise Inclusivity Award by the British Council. To date, Kym Viet and the British Council still maintain a close relationship. 

In addition to its 18-strong core production staff, the Kym Viet team also includes its three founding members, a storekeeper and a cashier. This makes a total of 23 staff, all of whom are creating, sharing and enjoying Kym Viet’s values and commercial success, and the team is confident business will continue to grow in the future.

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Source from British Council : https://www.britishcouncil.vn/en/about/25-years-ebook/supporting-social-enterprises/pham-viet-hoai