autism

Coco Farm & Winery Employs Unique Workforce

Filed under: Wine

It is one thing to enjoy a good bottle of wine but when the back story to that wine includes employment for developmentally disabled individuals it adds a little something extra. At Coco Farm & Winery in Japan over one hundred unique people are employed in creating each bottle of wine. Many even live full-time at the vineyard which also serves as a school. The detail-oriented and repetitive environment is complimentary to many of the autistic students' personalities and their treatment as colleagues encourages everyone to participate fully in the winemaking process no matter the task.

Coco Farms & Winery is commended for its chardonnay, typically a difficult wine to create in Japan's climate. Many Japanese wines tend to be sweeter with the cold winters and hot summers. Their wines range from whites, reds, rosés, sparkling and dessert wines. I find it especially interesting how well the process of winemaking suits the developmentally disabled -- are other wineries offering similar opportunities?

via Vinography

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Tags: autism, autistic, coco farm and winery, CocoFarmAndWinery, developmentally disabled, DevelopmentallyDisabled, japan, japanese wine, JapaneseWine

The Arc of the United States, Charity of the Day

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity of the Day

The Arc of the United States is the largest organization dedicated to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It's the group behind the outcries against the controversial film Tropic Thunder and has effectively lobbied for public policy that will support individuals living with autism, epilepsy and various other developmental disabilities. The national org facilitates smaller chapters all over the country, offering community-based support to the over 7 million people with intellectual disabilities in the U.S.

Its National Convention -- open to anyone interested in learning more -- will take place this November in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Participants can sign up now and until mid-October.

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Tags: albequerque, arc, autism, developmental disabilities, DevelopmentalDisabilities, epilepsy, the arc of the united states, TheArcOfTheUnitedStates, tropic thunder, TropicThunder