What started as a solution for their son with Down syndrome three years ago, is now also a haven for another eight young adults with various intellectual disabilities such as Down syndrome, autism and other intellectual disabilities.
At the beginning of 2019, after their son, Joshua Rutherfoord (now 23), finished school the previous year at Perpetua House in Monte Vista, a small school for special needs children, his parents, John and Lynn Rutherfoord, decided to look for something that he could sign up for to keep him busy.
Joshua and his parents joined the Work4You programme in Salt River, where young adults with intellectual disabilities are trained to bake and developed for placement in the open labour market.
According to Rutherfoord, founder of Down with Dough, she saw the need for a special needs facility for young adults in Durbanville. Work4You suggested they start a replication of their programme in Durbanville.
After six months of training, their non-profit organisation Down with Dough, which helps young adults with intellectual disabilities bridge the gap between school and the workforce, opened its doors.
They can only accommodate nine members at the moment, of which only four on a specific day.
They work from 08:00 to 14:30 and are taught to do measuring, weighing, scooping, mixing, packaging, labelling and sealing. They are assisted by five staff members with the baking.
Although they pay for their training, development and assessments, they are also paid a stipend for their hard work, Rutherfoord says.
“We also source work placement for them where they can work two to three hours with assistance,” she says.
One of the members, Hanneke van Niekerk, is fully employed by Down with Dough since February and is a real right-hand in the kitchen.
The members of Down with Dough are from all over the northern suburbs – Durbanville, Century City, Welgedacht, Monte Vista en Table View. They are all between 18 and 39 years of age.
“We started with a drawing line of 30 years, but how do you draw that line when the need is so big? The other choice for these adults is to sit at home, doing nothing,” Rutherfoord explains.
“We have quite a busy week and are sometimes overwhelmed by the demand. We are very blessed that our business is just growing.
“Throughout Joshua’s life the right people have just crossed our path,” she says.
According to Rutherfoord they decided on gluten free baking products as Joshua is following a gluten free diet.
They make three types of bread, chocolate brownies (with sugar or xylitol), spicy blonde brownies, white chocolate brownies, oats and seed muffins and two types of dog treats.
“A sincere thanks to all our faithful customers and coffee shops in the Durbanville area that purchase our products, as well as Baketech for their monthly donation of ingredients,” she says.
