Autism Cafe Project partners with KL hotel to empower autistic youths
The partnership allows participants to sell their handmade products directly to the public within the hotel compound.
SARAH ABD MAJID
A TABLE set up in a hotel lobby may look like an ordinary retail counter. But for the youths standing behind it, it represents something far greater, a doorway to independence.
The Autism Cafe Project has taken a new step forward through a collaboration with Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, in a community initiative aimed at empowering individuals with autism through meaningful work rather than charity.
Speaking to Sinar Daily, Autism Cafe Project founder Mohd Adli Yahya, 61, said the partnership allows participants to sell their handmade products including cookies, cupcakes and beaded bracelets directly to the public within the hotel compound during Kuala Lumpur’s car-free weekends.
The hotel, he said, has also opened discussions about placing selected participants into real working roles under a buddy system with hotel staff.
What began as a small café has since evolved into a residential training centre in Shah Alam, where young autistic adults live and learn essential life skills, from cooking and cleaning to handling customers and managing orders.
“Donations help, but the best support is to buy from us. If you buy, they work,” Adli said, reiterating the project’s core belief that empowerment must come through employment, not handouts.
He said this when met at Sheraton Imperial during a Ramadan Media Preview buffet recently, where members of the Autism Cafe Project manned stalls, assembling and selling handmade bracelets on the spot.
In an Instagram post, Sheraton Imperial described the initiative as a reminder that Ramadan is also about compassion, inclusion and giving back.
Over the past nine years, the Autism Cafe Project has trained 103 individuals, many of whom now earn income through the goods they produce.
Adli acknowledged that their products may be priced slightly higher, explaining that this reflects both the slower pace of production and the use of quality ingredients. More importantly, he said, the income supports skill-building and dignity.
With Sheraton Imperial offering space, visibility and potential employment opportunities, Adli hopes the partnership will encourage more organisations to step forward.
“Our goal is simple, independence. We want them to live, work and contribute to society, just like everyone else,” he said.
For these youths, every cookie baked, every bracelet assembled and every customer served brings them one step closer to that future.
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