Belarusian wheelchair barista launches Poland's first 'inclusive' cafe

With its sleek interior and freshly ground coffee, the cafe run by Belarus-born Sasha Avdevich may at first glance seem like yet another trendy spot in Warsaw.

But the lowered, wheelchair-accessible countertop and a sticker reading 'The barista on shift has a hearing impairment' in Polish, English and Belarusian reveal this is no ordinary business.

Avdevich, himself a wheelchair user, founded the first 'Inclusive Barista' coffee shop while still in Belarus. He quickly shot to fame as a disability campaigner in his home country.

The 40-year-old activist left Belarus in 2020 and had quite the journey. He dealt with Covid-19, stopping in Georgia, before heading to the Canary Islands and France.

He eventually moved to Poland, now home to tens of thousands of fellow Belarusians.

"There are many migrants with disabilities," Avdevich said.

As he settled in Warsaw, Avdevich launched barista training for people in wheelchairs, threw festivals where the trainees brewed coffee from specially adapted carts, and began to draw up plans for his first cafe in Poland.

When he found a commercial space suited to people with disabilities, close to his flat and in the city's increasingly popular Praga district, Avdevich and his business partner decided to give it a shot.

"We had money for three months of rent, and we were like: 'Come on, whatever happens, we'll do it,'" he said.

Rap battles and speed dating

Opened in April, the cafe hires people with various disabilities as well as migrants, not only 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 organize a speed dating event soon," Avdevich said.

The cafe is also launching an inclusive DJing school. Avdevich lost the use of his legs when he broke his back in a motorbike accident in 2011.

"There's no surgery for this type of disability... it's not possible to walk again, even if I was Bill Gates," Avdevich added. Shortly after the accident he says he told himself 'OK, I'm alive. What can I do? I have working arms.'

"And now we're here, in our coffee shop, making this world better."

When he found a commercial space suited to people with disabilities, close to his flat and in the city's increasingly popular Praga district, Avdevich and his business partner decided to give it a shot.

"We had money for three months of rent, and we were like: 'Come on, whatever happens, we'll do it,'" he said.

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