Humanwinety and Gerard Basset Foundation support integration of disabled people in the wine and hotel sector
All companies with more than a hundred workers have been required to respect a minimum share of the employability of workers with disabilities since the beginning of February. In Portugal, Humanwinety (HW) is the company par excellence that promotes and integrates, since its foundation in 2022, individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities, and other minorities, in the wine and hotel sectors.
This project, which has a training platform for employees starting in the spring, has the support of the Gerard Basset Foundation and partners Quinta da Aveleda and Herdade do Rocim. The company, founded by winemaker Bento Amaral - a quadriplegic for 28 years - and wine consultant Cláudio Martins, will hold its first fundraising auction in March. In 2024, the first professionals trained by HW will arrive on the job market. Interested parties can obtain more information through the email address info@humanwinety.com.
Humanwinety's mentor overcame the adversities of his condition, and learned early on that the struggle for social inclusion would be one of his great causes. Just over half a year after starting what is one of his life projects, Bento Amaral sees the law determining that medium-sized enterprises, with 75 to 249 employees, are now obliged to "admit workers with disabilities in numbers of not less than 1% of the staff at his service", while large ones, with a number of 250 workers or more, shall have a 'quota of at least 2%'. A measure that, although late, and represents only "a small step" of what it aspires to, must be viewed with joy.
"It was our willingness to have the platform already up and running, but the technology to be implemented is not simple and, being a new project, created from scratch, is demanding some more time. I believe that next spring we will be able to welcome the first graduates", says Bento Amaral.
Humanwinety intends to promote the inclusion of individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities, in addition to other minorities, in the wine and tourism business, helping to help address the lack of workers in this industry. The training platform for its courses, also aimed at groups with physical and/or intellectual disabilities, starts already in the course of spring and promises to be a success. The payment of the admission fee of the first 66 registrants will be borne by the Gerard Basset Foundation, which will allow the company to ensure, more quickly, the vocational training of a significant number of students in the wine and hospitality industries.
Among the novelties, is also the announcement of the date of the wine auction and solidarity dinner of Humanwinety, whose value will revert to Caritas. The solemn moment takes place on March 9, at Vandelli (former Royal Greenhouse), in the Botanical Garden in Lisbon. 30 guests are expected at the auction, which will be touted by Luís Costa Brandão, director of Leiloeira Cabral Moncada, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the country. For those interested in supporting this cause can register through the following link.
The auction has, for now, with the support of Food Story, which offers the space and catering, and Coravin, which in addition to presenting the best students of the course with its products of wine preservation system Timeless Six+ and Coravin Sparkling, will have presence in one of the lots for the auction. As well as the generous contribution of producers Andersen, Vinhos Barbeito, Esporão, José Maria da Fonseca, Quinta do Crasto, Quinta do Valado, Six Senses Douro Valley, Soalheiro, Sogrape, Sublime Comporta, Poças, Vértice, Vinhos Imperfectand Wine & Soul. However, the company hopes to continue to close other partnerships regarding transportation and stay. More information in www.humanwinety.com
About Humanwinety: it is a company that intends to promote the integration of individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities and other minorities in the world of wine and hospitality, thus promoting the increase of cultural or racial diversity less represented in the country and equalizing opportunities. In a way, it enhances the creation of opportunities for professional achievement for people from groups with lower social visibility.
Through a b-learning scheme, it increases the knowledge of these groups and provides them with the necessary tools for proper professional development, providing professional internships in collaboration with their partners and future integration into the labor market.
