One Sense: the Roman restaurant for the deaf

We are all born equal, with the same obligations and opportunities. An old, happy story, a slogan that often resonates in platitudes. But we know that, in reality, it's not quite like that. At least not for everyone. Valeria Olivotti, 33, supported by her mother Donatella Montani, who has been deaf since the age of three, is proof of how many barriers and prejudices still divide members of the same society. And at the same time, her story demonstrates how it is possible in life. don't waste your qualities and her own energies, through the willpower typical of courageous people. Valeria managed to make his dream come true: A restaurant for the deaf.

ONE SENSE RESTAURANT FOR THE DEAF

One Sense, this is the name of the place, is located in the heart of Garbatella, a popular neighborhood of Rome, and is one of the few places in the world where you can order in LIS, Italian sign language, and also in international sign language (Sign International).

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RESTAURANT WITH DEAF STAFF

Valeria, known to everyone as "Valla," is a young Roman entrepreneur with a high school diploma and experience in bartending management, but who, due to her disability, has often been rejected. "I've had a very uphill life," says Valla, "as is often the case with deaf people who live in a world where the prejudice still persists that we, with our invisible 'disability,' are incapable of leading a normal life. We don't see it as a problem, but simply as a fact." Strong in its desire to integrate and even more to stand out positively, decided to open a one-of-a-kind catering business, supported by her mother Donatella Montani, a real estate entrepreneur: "It took me two years to find the right location," Valeria continues, "since it had to be large and in a working-class neighborhood of Rome, where it's easier to find citizens open to integrating with disabled people."

Starting from the location, nothing was left to chance. The menu, which was taken care of by the Chef Fabio Campioli, is based on fair trade and organic products from communities of Capodarco and San PatrignanoEach dish is assigned a number, making communication easier between hearing and hard of hearing people, guests, and wait staff. The spacious, modern, and industrial-style space is made welcoming by the use of warm, bright colors and includes shelves displaying books on deafness and sign language dictionaries. Finding and training staff was also a challenge: "Many staff members," Olivotti says, "didn't feel ready to work with the deaf staff." Today, however, almost all the employees master LIS, allowing everyone to work in harmony, side by side.

RESTAURANT SIGN LANGUAGE

For Valeria, One Sense does not only represent a personal challenge won, but also an ambitious social inclusion projectShe would like her uniqueness, like that of all people like her, not to represent a shortcoming, but rather an extension capable of amplifying other senses. This is where her extraordinary idea of ​​catering comes from, convinced that at the basis of food consumption, such a simple and everyday act, there is an experience of profound sharing, in which we all move together, in one direction.

The images are taken from the Facebook page One Sense.

The “One Sense” project is a candidate for the 2020 Non Sprecare Award. To nominate your projects, follow the instructions provided here.

DON'T WASTE AWARD 2020:

• Suspended Meal: A wonderful initiative in Rome donates meals to those who can't prepare them.
• H2Agro, an Italian research project to eliminate water waste in agriculture.
• Recover, reuse, regenerate: a former landfill in Motta di Livenza becomes a public park.
• Quid, vulnerable women who recycle fabrics. With a brand with a turnover of over €3 million.
• Pineto: A fox-proof cage protects Kentish plover nests. Video surveillance is underway 24/24.