“Bread in the Dark”
an initiative of the Bread Houses Network, which focuses on working with people with visual impairments.
We created this unique method for community cohesion and personal transformation inspired by the other creative methods for “Bread therapy” we developed to help the social integration of people with various special needs.
“Bread in the Dark” partners with the global social enterprise Dialogue in the Dark. It builds and innovates on the already world-famous and successful model of “Dinner in the dark”, where blind people serve guests in the dark and facilitate collective bread-making and inspiring transformational discussions on existential questions.
The mission of the Bread in the Dark events is to connect sight-impaired facilitators with sighted people in 100% darkened environment where the mixed group engages in bread-making as a catalyst for dialogue on various existential questions, experienced tangibly through the processes of kneading bread as metaphors for life. Complete darkness helps position on an equal basis both sighted and visually impaired people, and it enables people to be set free from all of those prejudices, inhibitions, and judgments that vision, unfortunately, constantly stimulates.
Our long-term vision for this initiative is to become a self-sustained social enterprise so that the income from the events supports the salaries of the sight impaired facilitators and provide them with meaningful job opportunities. The successful social enterprise tested and proven in Bulgaria can then grow into an international social franchise, in the same way the Bread House social bakery model is already spreading as a social franchise.