Chupse: Creating jewellery out of coffee beans

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." - Christopher Reeve, American actor.

Chupse is a business that employs some of the heroes who Reeve mentions. It employs adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) who create jewellery and accessories, primarily made from coffee beans. An intellectual disability is a disorder that causes a person to experience certain limitations in mental function, which further affect other skills one should possess.

On a visit to the Chupse location, one is met first with laughter as a group of artists sift, sort, and meticulously select the right colour, size, and proportion of beads and separate them. They are hard at work, with their imagination untethered, to create jewellery and accessories, primarily from Blue Mountain coffee beans.

There is nothing ordinary about them - they are special, evidenced by their attention to detail and eagerness to learn the process to make these works of art.

Chupse creates Blue Mountain coffee bean accessories, lanyards, key rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, with each individual piece having a stamp of the creator. The sorted materials are placed in see-through bags and stored in containers. The coffee beans are also sorted, given a coat of sheen, and dried for use. The coffee that cannot be brewed now becomes wearable art.

Grateful

Marilyn McKoy, executive director of the Jamaica Association on Intellectual Disabilities (JAID), said Chupse has the objective of helping persons with intellectual disabilities by creating an avenue for them to earn a living and have a voice. "It is the mandate of Chupse to not only provide a means of employment for those with ID, but also help them to hone their creativity and express themselves. We are growing from strength to strength, but there is still a long way to go, for which we are thankful to our supporters, associates and the customers, who are helping in us growing."

McKoy thanked Osmosis Caribbean, an online initiative that strives to bring to the fore the works of the creative minds of the region for their continued support.

Amitabh Sharma, lead consultant at Osmosis Caribbean, said, "Chupse is a labour of love, and the name is as lovable as the story behind it - it was a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) volunteer who came up with this name. My association with Chupse goes back to 2012, when I wrote a feature on them, and since then, I have been personally, and through Osmosis Caribbean, associated with them to build their capacity [and] provide marketing support."

Sharma advises: "The key is not to treat people with disabilities as children of lesser God. They are wonderful souls, and Chupse is a business. We (Osmosis Caribbean) are constantly advising on newer designs, material and styles. They are doing an exceptional job... and the rest is history. Chupse is now almost seven years old."

The business has become the trademark of JAID and is supported by JICA and Ueshima Blue Mountain Coffee Company, which donates coffee beans. Additionally, part proceeds of the sales made at and by Osmosis Caribbean goes towards developing Chupse as a viable and formidable social enterprise.

Chupse is based at the JAID headquarters, 7 Golding Avenue, Kingston 7. They can be contacted via email: chupsejamaica@gmail.com; phone: (876) 977-0134 or (876) 848-4239. Visit their website: jaid.org.jm.