Unlimited opportunities

“DESIGN+” studio located on the premises of factory for deaf people in Murmansk recently held an open day. The studio is making design of t-shirts, hoodies and other clothes according to customs’ preferences. The new equipment brought from Norway allows to print any texts and images on clothes as the client wants it. Produced clothes are of good quality and look cute.

The studio was established in the framework of Russian-Norwegian project. The cooperation between Tromsø Society for Deaf People and their counterparts from Murmansk and Polyarniy town started long ago, about 10 years ago. Deaf children from Murmansk visited Tromsø on exchange, the Norwegians came to Murmansk, the leaders as well shared their experience and ideas on work. One of such ideas was a design studio in Tromsø where deaf people worked.

For many years deaf people were predestined to "the law of three S" as regards work places: professions of carpenter, shoemaker and tailor (in Norwegian all these words begin with the letter “s” – snekker, skomaker, skredder). Disabled people do not have a wide range of options where to work.

Now the small factory in Murmansk enables people with disabilities to get an interesting work. Those who can hear and speak take orders over the phone, the deaf-mute – work with equipment, making prints on t-shirts.

As in all contemporary work places, the factory employers should know how to work with computers.

- This year we managed to reach an agreement with Population Employment Centre, - says Irina Melnik, the coordinator of the project from the Russian part. The training will be done in groups on the premises of the employment centre, with graduation certificates. Apart from free education and premises, students will have small scholarships from the state. It is a big success for us. It is nice to know that Russian side has its own contribution as well.

Everyone in the factory is pleased to work here, it gives an opportunity to learn something new, to develop one’s imagination, to communicate and earn money.

The project was supported by the Norwegian Barents secretariat.