Words by Smiley Team
When Jenny Trott, from North Ayrshire in Scotland, found out her son had profound physical and learning disabilities, she was determined to ensure he had the same rights as everyone else.
She set about challenging people’s expectations of what disabled people can achieve through her non-profit social enterprise Mecoco – a candle-making business, under the tagline #SmellsGoodFeelsGood.
“We strongly believe our son James should enjoy a full and productive life, like non-disabled people," she tells Smiley News. "As he approached school-leaving age we knew that there were very few opportunities for him to do anything meaningful like have a job. Finding work is hard for disabled people, and for those with significant support needs it is impossible.
“So I set up Mecoco, so that James and others could gain all the benefits everyone else does from working; learning new skills, feeling useful, making new friends, doing something meaningful."
There are now 24 people in Jenny's team, all working for one half day per week, and making a valuable contribution to their home fragrance business.
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Mecoco’s candles and wax melts are made on site in their workshop, using soy wax, and poured into tins, jars and moulds.
“There are so many stages of production that individuals can get involved, from sticking the candle wicks into tins, to de-moulding melts or labelling," she says. "We’ll find a role for anyone, whether they need physical help or regular guidance. Some of our colleagues come with their own support staff to help them, others can manage by themselves.”
But Mecoco works to be as inclusive as possible, meaning their staff is a mixture of disabled and non-disabled colleagues working together. They have created many beautiful fragrances, and some team members have even developed their own range.
Jenny adds: “It is difficult to express quite what a difference working at Mecoco can make to our staff. There is a great deal of pride attached to knowing that they have been involved in producing a really professional product which we then sell on our website."
(Read more about this disabled 12-year-old who saved his local activity centre)
“Whether it be a regular day when there is a steady hum of chatter, laughter and activity in the workshop, or a busy day packing up a large corporate order when everyone pulls together and works really hard together, it needs to be seen to be believed.
“People who are so easily written off as having nothing valuable to contribute to society are making a real difference to our business and they know it. Friendships have been made, respect gained. Families have learnt what their son, daughter or sibling can do once given the chance, professionals are encouraged to have higher aspirations for the people they work for, and the public are realising that everyone has something to offer.”
SUPPORT MECOCO: Customers have been thrilled with the Mecoco products, which regularly receiving 5* reviews - and you can order some for yourself on the Mecoco website.
DONATE: Support Scope, who is on a mission to achieve equality for disabled people in the UK.
WATCH: Our Smiley Talk, 'Building Happier Communities', looked at how we can become more inclusive as a society.
