Fingertalk B: Breaking the Silence and Empowering Individuals with Disabilities

Discussion Questions

Embarking on Deaf Café Fingertalk’s Journey

When Dissa was ten years old, she met an elderly man who was deaf. This was her first interaction with a person with a disability, and it made her aware of the potential for overcoming communication barriers through sign language.

Years later, after graduating from university and securing employment, Dissa maintained her interest in sign language and her commitment to social service. She recognized that salaried employment did not align with her personal aspirations; instead, she wanted to contribute to building a more inclusive society. Eventually, she left her job to pursue volunteer work in Nicaragua.

During her time there, she visited Café de la Sonrisas [Café of Smiles], a café staffed by deaf individuals. Observing the operations and interactions in this environment reinforced her belief that deaf people could work alongside hearing individuals within a community setting. This experience inspired her to explore a similar concept in her home country, Indonesia, with the goal of shifting societal perceptions and creating equitable employment opportunities for deaf individuals.

Upon returning to Indonesia, Dissa began developing the concept of a café operated by deaf workers. She believed that food could serve as a bridge between people, overcoming language and cultural differences. She conducted market research over several months and adapted her concept to suit the local context. She also began preparing for the operational requirements, which included securing start-up capital, identifying a location, recruiting staff and providing training.

Her efforts led to the launch of the first small Deaf Café Fingertalk, also known as Fingertalk Café, in Pamulang, Banten. The location was set up in the backyards of her sign language mentor’s house. The café held its soft opening on 3 May 2015 (see Appendix I). It featured décor incorporating Indonesian sign language (Bahasa Isyarat Indonesia or Bisindo) and a calm, home-like atmosphere.

The menu included items such as kwetiau kungfu (an Indonesian noodle dish), fries and cheese, tuna with lemon sauce, blended ice chocolate, taro milkshakes and teh tarik (hot milk tea). Prices were relatively low compared to other local cafés, with food ranging from 30,000 to 35,000 IDR ($2.00–2.30 as of 2024) and drinks from 15,000 to 20,000 IDR ($1.00–1.34 as of 2024). Shortly before opening the doors, Dissa encouraged her team, expressing confidence that they were ready. Once the ‘OPEN’ sign was displayed, customers began to arrive.

When she turned around, she saw her crew running back into the kitchen. Dissa quickly ran into the kitchen and asked if they were fine. Her crew looked nervous and said (in sign language):

‘We’ve never seen this many hearing people in our lives. Are they coming here for us? Why?’ Dissa grinned and gently replied, ‘They are here to try our food; they would like to talk to you. You are doing great, let’s show them what you got!’.

The deaf crew were especially surprised by a television crew coming in along with customers to cover the opening. To assuage her crew’s fear, Dissa stood by their side at the cash register to provide support and encouragement. Some glitches were also observed. When customers started ordering food and beverages, it was too fast for crew members to lip-read. They asked customers to speak slowly and repeat their orders. Surprisingly, many customers started using sign language displayed on the tables and walls to order and connect with the deaf crew. It was surely a busy and challenging day, but the smiles on the crew’s faces and their interactions with customers really made the day.

Deaf Café Fingertalk gained increasing public recognition, yet sales volumes were not sufficient to fully cover operating expenses. Dissa aimed to pay employees wages at least equivalent to the market rate for café staff, which was approximately IDR 1,500,000 per month per employee. The relatively low rent of IDR 1,000,000 per month, due to the café’s location outside the city centre, helped reduce costs. Media coverage also provided useful publicity at no cost.

One of the most persistent challenges, apart from promoting the use of Indonesian sign language, was encouraging customers to visit the café for its products and service rather than out of sympathy. Dissa sought to ensure that customers appreciated her team’s skills and treated them as equals, but public scepticism towards people with disabilities remained.

Business performance varied, with some days busier than others. On average, the café attracted forty customers per day, selling roughly forty beverages and twenty food items. Monthly costs for groceries and other supplies were approximately IDR 10,125,000, while electricity, water and gas bills totalled around IDR 9,000,000.

After about eighteen months, the Pamulang café achieved self-sufficiency (see Appendix II). Building on this progress, Dissa opened a second location in Cinere, West Java. To create additional employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities who might not be suited to café work, she introduced a car wash service at the new site. The service attracted an average of ten customers per day, each paying IDR 40,000 per wash.

The Cinere location also featured the Fingertalk Shop, which housed a handicraft workshop offering sewing, cooking and batik painting (see Appendix III). While the workshop’s financial contribution was limited, it provided meaningful engagement for members of the local deaf community.

As both locations developed, Fingertalk inspired the creation of a sister initiative, Banua Momberata, meaning ‘House of Encounters’ in the local Posonese language, on Sulawesi Island, approximately 1,733 km from Java (see Appendix IV). In 2019, Dissa further expanded operations at Cinere by opening a bakery producing bread and pastries prepared by deaf staff. Operating twice a week, the bakery averaged fifty customers per day, each spending approximately IDR 20,000.

The café at Cinere attracted a level of daily customer traffic similar to that of the Pamulang café. Monthly rent at Cinere was higher, at IDR 3,000,000, but it covered the café, car wash, shop and bakery. Utility costs averaged IDR 13,500,000 per month, while the cost of inputs for both the café and bakery totalled about IDR 12,125,000 per month.

The concept of social enterprises worked with the support of various stakeholders and partners (see Appendix V). By the beginning of 2020, the Fingertalk enterprise had grown to employ more than thirty deaf and other people with disabilities in Java and Sulawesi Island, empowering people with disabilities to participate and contribute to the local economies. Dissa and Fingertalk had become platforms for spreading goodwill and creating more opportunities for people with disabilities.

COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

The first case of COVID-19 in Indonesia was reported on 2 March 2020 (Marchio, 2020). Over 1,000 confirmed cases and 84 deaths were recorded within less than a month (WHO Health Emergency Dashboard, 2022). In response, the Indonesian government declared a state of emergency. Local authorities implemented strict measures, including the closure of schools and entertainment venues and encouraged social distancing. Despite these measures, the number of daily new infections continued to rise and fatalities among severely ill patients increased. Intensive care units in many hospitals reached full capacity.

Local authorities imposed curfews and lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus. On 31 March 2020, President Joko Widodo declared a national public health emergency. The government restricted the entry of international travellers, and returning Indonesian citizens were required to present health reports and undergo mandatory self-quarantine.

These measures had a significant impact on businesses. Customer activity declined sharply as people complied with stay-at-home advisories, curfews and lockdowns. Restaurants, cafés and food stalls were initially permitted to operate only through takeaway and delivery services. Later, even these options were suspended to reduce transmission. As a result, Dissa suspended all Fingertalk operations in Java in accordance with local regulations.

The Fingertalk location on Sulawesi Island experienced less disruption from the pandemic and continued to generate some revenue. However, the combined sales from all locations were insufficient to meet ongoing operational expenses.

The Way Forward

By the end of April 2020, Dissa sat in one of her cafés, reflecting on the stark contrast between its stillness and its previously vibrant atmosphere. She recalled a conversation with her employees when she distributed their monthly salaries. Several of them had expressed their reliance on Fingertalk as their primary source of income, stating that they were committed to supporting the enterprise in any way possible. They explained that alternative employment opportunities were scarce, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dissa affirmed her commitment to the team, stating that closing the business was not an option. Her overarching goal remained to help deaf individuals and others with disabilities achieve financial independence while contributing to their communities.

The Fingertalk location in Sulawesi continued to operate with minimal disruption and generated sufficient revenue to cover its expenses. However, the geographical distance made it difficult to directly support the Pamulang and Cinere branches. Dissa, therefore, began focusing on strategies to help Fingertalk withstand the pandemic’s economic challenges, with the objective of restoring operations in Pamulang and Cinere and safeguarding the livelihoods of the 25 employees at those sites.

The decline in sales had already begun in March, with a 20% drop in customer numbers at both locations. By the end of that month, the company’s bank balance stood at IDR 50,000,000. The situation worsened in April following the declaration of a national health emergency, as sales fell to 20% of pre-pandemic levels. With lockdown measures and curfews in place, Dissa anticipated that May would bring negligible sales for cafés and bakeries.

Unexpectedly, the car wash at the Cinere location maintained steady business. Customers, avoiding public transportation, appeared to be using personal vehicles more frequently, which increased demand for cleaning services. Maintaining the car wash required only four staff members. Meanwhile, with cafés and bakeries closed, there was no need to purchase groceries or other supplies. Utility costs were reduced but could not be eliminated entirely, with a minimum of 20% of pre-pandemic bills still payable. Dissa began reviewing financial data and operational scenarios in detail to chart a viable path forward.