Avdevich launched barista training for people in wheelchairs when he settled in Warsaw.
Warsaw, Poland:
With its stylish interior and freshly ground coffee, the cafe run by Belarusian exile Sasha Avdevich may, at first glance, seem like just another hip place in Warsaw.
But the low-slung, wheelchair-accessible countertop and a sticker that reads, “The barista on shift has a hearing impairment” in Polish, English and Belarusian reveal that this is no ordinary business.
Avdevich, himself a wheelchair user, founded the first “Inclusive Barista” cafe while still in Belarus and quickly rose to fame as a disability advocate in the iron-fisted country ruled by President Alexander Lukashenko.
The 40-year-old activist took part in the unprecedented mass protests that swept Belarus following the 2020 elections, which rights groups called fraudulent.
As Lukashenko brutally suppressed dissent, Avdevich knew he had to flee.
“A lot of people called me at that time and said, ‘Sasha, if you don’t want to end up in a coffin, leave the country,'” he told AFP.
He recounted the Covid pandemic-era journey that saw him flee initially to Georgia and then travel to the Canary Islands before applying for international protection in France.
He ended up moving to Poland, where tens of thousands of fellow Belarusians who, like Avdevich, fled repression, now live.
“There are a lot of migrants with disabilities,” Avdevich said.
Rap battle, speed dating
Upon settling in Warsaw, Avdevich launched barista training for people in wheelchairs, organized festivals where trainees prepared coffee on specially adapted carts, and began drawing up plans for his first cafe in Poland.
When he found a commercial space suitable for people with disabilities, close to his apartment and in Prague’s increasingly popular neighborhood, Avdevich and his business partner decided to give it a try.
“We had money for three months’ rent and we thought, ‘Come on, whatever happens, we’ll do it,’” he said.
Opened in April, the cafe hires people with various disabilities, as well as migrants, not just from Belarus.
The founders said they want their cafe to be as “international” – and inclusive – as possible.
“We recently organized a rap battle, we will soon organize a speed dating event,” said Avdevich.
The cafe is also launching an inclusive DJing school.
Avdevich lost the use of his legs when he broke his back in a motorcycle accident in 2011.
“There is no surgery for this type of disability… I cannot walk again, even if I were Bill Gates,” Avdevich laughed.
Shortly after the accident, he said to himself, “OK, I’m alive. What can I do? I have functional arms.
“And now we are here, in our coffee shop, making this world better.”
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