Solidarity Foundation and Amadeus launch Pride Café

The “Pride Café” is being established by Amadeus in collaboration with the NGO Solidarity Foundation, based in Bengaluru. This groundbreaking programme in India strives to provide the LGBTQIA+ population with opportunities for employment. Amadeus is supporting two food trucks that have 12 LGBTQIA+ employees, including seven who have already been hired, as part of the project.

To successfully run food truck enterprises, the community members have received training and equipment in culinary and customer service abilities. Acclaimed actress and theatre personality Ms. Arundhati Nag and renowned activist, singer, and drag queen Mr. Alex Mathew, well known as Maya the Drag Queen, officiated during the café’s ceremonial opening.

Numerous organisations, including WeWork (location partner), Agape Hospitality Consultants (operations partner), the Aravani Art Project and Desavous (design partner), who joined the Solidarity Foundation to build Pride Café, and Amadeus (technology partner), support this innovative project.

The Aravani Art Project painted the food trucks, which went into service on January 9th, 2023, and will continue to provide breakfast, lunch, snacks, and tea/coffee services at the WeWork Galaxy on Residency Road in Bengaluru. Maya performed at the inaugural ceremony, and Jogappas, a traditional transgender group, contributed their most cherished and treasured music for the festivities.

The goal of the project is to encourage a richer interaction between the community and society. The average daily income in the community is INR 384, according to a livelihood needs assessment of the LGBTQIA+ groups (conducted by Solidarity Foundation, Sangama, and Best Practices Foundation). The main cause of these meagre economic improvements is the community’s isolation from the labour force.

Solidarity Foundation and Amadeus

Amadeus has a strong belief that the Pride Café has the potential to grow into a prosperous business in the future, reducing social isolation and promoting equality in the workplace. Thus, Pride Café is a creative effort to develop a platform that strives to raise awareness and give these people the chance to overcome significant challenges they face on a daily basis.

Additionally, each participant received instruction in English, computers, financial literacy, mental health, and the hospitality skills required to manage and own a mobile kitchen van. A first and encouraging step towards a more inclusive future, the project has an equal pay policy for all employees, including those working in the kitchen, truck, cleaning, cooking, and service responsibilities.

The Pride Café is a project to offer an inclusive and stigma-free working environment, despite the fact that LGBTQIA+ community members encounter discrimination and human rights violations at all phases of the educational and employment process.