ABOUT US
Who are we?
The Aubergine Café is the vision of a small team of autistic adults to empower other autistic people through accessible environments and innovative working practices while providing ethically sourced, nutritious and affordable plant-based food to local people in the wider community.
Aubergine is run by an autistic complement from our kitchen and floor staff to our administrators and directors. We implement robust policies of outreach and inclusion, not only with the autistic community, but those with whom we also identify, such as LGBT+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups.
Only 16% of autistic adults in the UK are in full-time paid employment, and only 32% are in some kind of paid work. Aubergine aims to address this deficit by offering employment opportunities and training for fellow autistic adults and generating best practice models which can be replicated in other work-forces.
Evidence based research shows that when we make a business autism friendly, we actually end up making it people friendly: people communicate more effectively, are more comfortable in their job, and in turn give more back to the business.
For the past three years we have collected a wealth of information from autistic people in the shape of formal surveys, online discussions and focus groups to help inform our work.
Autistic people have told us that many cafes and events are inaccessible to them because of challenges associated with autism, for example, the noise of the coffee machine, the brightness of the lights, and even the positioning of the seating. This means that many autistic adults miss out on accessing some of our most basic amenities.
Our business model is about finding solutions to enable autistic people to access and maintain employment, by designing a working environment where we can identify problems and solve them early on, or whereby commonly identified workplace issues are simply removed from the offset.
Eventually we aim to diversify our outreach and impact, working with architects and tech developers to create a purpose built, model cafe environment, an events schedule, a training programme for individuals and a consultation service for businesses as a competitive high street brand
Alongside being a food business, we are also an arts organisation, developing partnerships with local creatives allowing our café space to function as a versatile platform for creative expression, uplifting autistic voices and providing a cultural and social hub for autistic thinkers, performers and creators, hosting a variety exhibitions, workshops, film screenings and performance events featuring their work
Who is Aubergine for?
Although we like to think Aubergine is for everyone, our focus is on creating a space for autistic and neurodiverse adults like ourselves, including those of us with fewer or less apparent support needs who tend to miss out on a lot of the support services and opportunities targeted towards the autism community because we don’t fit the bill for what most people think autism is.
We get told all too often that we ‘don’t seem autistic.’ Often this phrase is used with ostensibly good intentions but is ultimately a backhanded compliment that can leave us feeling invalidated and invisible. Of course, there is really no such thing as looking or sounding autistic. The autistic community is hugely diverse and though many of us have fewer support needs than others we all face similar challenges and share similar experiences and perspectives. We all have meltdowns or shutdowns occasionally. Some of us are non-speaking at least some of the time if not all the time. Most of us have sensory issues of some kind. Our lived experience of autism is a part of who we are even if it isn’t obvious to others at first glance.
Accessibility and inclusion for everyone are essential to the ethos of Aubergine. We aim to be a safe space for all disabled and neurodiverse people regardless of their level of support needs but we also want to help change the narrative and redefine what it means to be autistic in the eyes of the world. We are a diverse team of hard working, clever, creative and proudly autistic adults doing what we can to support one another and help create greater acceptance and understanding of autism in the world of work and beyond.
Sound familiar? Then sure, Aubergine is for everyone but it’s especially for you.
#actuallyautistic
Our Vision
At Aubergine we strive to create inclusive spaces where autistic people can be authentically and unapologetically themselves and connect with one another to form strong resilient communities.
We envision Aubergine as a platform for autistic excellence, challenging public perceptions of neurodiversity and promoting the value of autistic people to employers.
Aubergine’s vision is to bring equity to the employment market through accessible opportunities and working environments which empower autistic people to thrive in the workplace and in the wider community.
100% owned and run by autistic people, Aubergine sets out to develop innovative work practices and accessible environments to empower autistic adults and enable them to thrive. Our aims are to tackle social isolation, improve work prospects and develop community cohesion with the general theme of acceptance and inclusion.
We are creating safer spaces for the communities within which we belong (including BAME and LGBT), demonstrating good practice and showcasing the excellence of autistic workforces.
Aubergine Arts
In this time of lockdown and social distancing we believe it is more important than ever to maintain strong networks of support for autistic adults by actively engaging with the autistic community and creating opportunities for creative development and social connection.
We aim to develop ways to adapt the Aubergine Cafe in Cathays into a versatile and accessible platform for creative expression, amplifying autistic voices, making the arts accessible to underserved communities such as the local community here in Riverside. We want to challenge the norm in the arts to be more inclusive of neurodiverse creators and audiences.
We also want to document the experiences of the autistic community during this unique and unprecedented time in our history in a series of exhibitions and performances featuring the work of autistic artists. Click here to find out more.
