Cape Town gluten-free bakery creates jobs and a sense of belonging for adults with disabilities

People often place limitations on what adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities can achieve. But in a quiet neighbourhood in Bellville North, Cape Town, a small bakery is challenging those assumptions, one brownie, loaf of bread and dog treat at a time.

At Down With Dough Bakery, adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities are not simply being given something to do. They are being allowed to work, learn, socialise and, most importantly, belong.

Some of the adults struggle to read or write, yet they have mastered the skill of following recipes and measuring ingredients to produce gluten-free baked goods for customers.

Their work challenges the widespread barriers faced by adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who often experience exclusion from formal employment and limited access to specialised support, training and community-based opportunities.

Last week, the Sunday Times visited the bakery, where the smell of freshly baked brownies could be detected metres away.

Inside, the atmosphere was warm and lively, with smiling faces, laughter and the occasional giggle.

“This is where the magic takes place,” said director and owner Lynne Rutherford.

The kitchen is divided into different workstations. On one side, brownies were being prepared, while on the other, employees were busy making dog treats. Everyone had a role and focused on the task assigned to them for the day.

Joshua Rutherford, 27, who has Down syndrome, helps prepare dog treats at Down With Dough Bakery in Bellville North, where he has found work, friendship and a sense of belonging. (Yoliswa Sobuwa) Rutherford said the bakery began in 2018 after her son, Joshua, 27, who has Down syndrome, completed school at a special-needs school.

“We were quite undecided about what we were going to do with him after school, and because there aren’t many opportunities, we thought we could start something,” she said.

The family initially collaborated with another Cape Town organisation that trains young adults with intellectual disabilities and prepares them for the workforce.

“We actually thought that would be a good idea for Joshua and then, of course, thought we would include some friends with us. So that is actually what we did,” Rutherford said.

Down With Dough Bakery was established in 2019, specialising in gluten-free products because both Rutherford and her son follow a gluten-free diet.

“Obviously, the ‘down’ is a play on Down syndrome. So Down With Dough just sounded like a good name for a bakery,” she said.

Rutherford said one of the bakery’s main objectives was to bridge the gap between school and employment by providing training and development to young adults with intellectual disabilities and preparing them for the open labour market.

“We have a life-skills coordinator, and she actually integrates them into different work environments depending on what their likes are,” she said.

“Obviously, being in the bakery, we equip them with baking skills, but also with life skills because they learn about a lot of different aspects of the work environment.”

The bakery produces about 5,000 brownies a month, in addition to bread, muffins, dog treats and other products.

For the employees, however, the value of the bakery goes far beyond what comes out of the ovens.

Rutherford said the bakery had helped many of them develop confidence, friendships and a sense of belonging.

“The sense of belonging, of having friends and being able to relate to other like-minded people. A lot of them are very like-minded,” she said.

The employees arrive at the bakery at 8am and start work in the kitchen at 8.30am.

Their duties are rotated between different stations. Some fetch ingredients, while others weigh ingredients, wash equipment, pack brownies, seal and label products, or prepare dog treats.

On some days, the team produces between eight and 16 trays of brownies.

At 10.30am, they take a tea break before returning to their various tasks.

For some employees, even something as seemingly simple as reading a recipe can require a different approach.

Rutherford said several of the young adults had difficulties with reading and writing, but the bakery has developed practical ways of helping them work independently.

“It doesn’t mean to say that we teach them to read. But what we can do is assist them by writing the ingredients or the quantities on the tables because it’s stainless steel. Then they can match that to what’s on the scale, and that’s how we can help them,” she said.

Through repetition and recognition, employees begin identifying ingredients, shapes, quantities and labels.

“A lot of them think or believe that they can’t read or write, but through repetition, they start recognising certain things, ingredients or even the labels,” Rutherford said.

“We fill the space quickly, and then we need more to accommodate more young adults. There’s a huge need. I’ve got a waiting list of people that want to come,” she said.

That waiting list is a reminder of the gap Down With Dough is trying to fill, and of how many young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities remain excluded from meaningful employment opportunities.

For Joshua, the bakery is not simply his mother’s business. It is his workplace, a place where he has developed skills and built relationships.

Busy making heart-shaped treats for dogs, Joshua said he loved baking and spending time with his colleagues.

“I was 20 years old when I started here. And I enjoy doing dog treats, cutting and packing the brownies,” he said.

In a world where people with disabilities are too often defined by what they cannot do, Down With Dough is offering a different recipe: give people an opportunity, adapt the environment to their needs, teach them skills and allow them to discover what they can do.

And sometimes, the result is as simple and as powerful as a freshly baked brownie made by someone who was once told they could not.