When Hands Speak, New Paths Open
Since its first class in 2025, the community project “Chu Cuoi Ve Lang” has continued to provide vocational training in baking for Deaf people* at Lang Art in Cam Ly - Da Lat Ward.
Inside the kitchen at Lang Art, Thanh Chau demonstrates each step for the students to observe and practice. From handling ingredients and mixing batter to shaping individual cakes, every step is demonstrated directly and repeated several times.
Teachers and students communicate mainly through demonstrations, eye contact and sign language. When a movement is not performed correctly, the students repeat it; when they have not yet mastered a skill, they continue practicing. Thanh Chau said some techniques need to be demonstrated and practiced three to five times before students can remember and follow the process correctly.
From Vocational Training to Self-Reliance
The vocational baking training program for Deaf students is part of the community project “Chu Cuoi Ve Lang,” organized by JCI Dalat, which also connects and mobilizes resources for the program.
The first course in 2025 had 15 students. The formal training lasted three months, after which Thanh Chau Bakery and Lang Art continued providing support for another six months, giving the students more time to practice and strengthen their vocational skills.
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In 2026, the program continued with 15 students, including nine returning students and six new participants. The training is scheduled to last three months, with three classes held each week on cake-making techniques.
The Deaf students receive the training completely free of charge. All participants come from the Lam Dong Center for Inclusive Education Development Support and joined the program because they wanted to learn baking and pursue it as a career.
Huynh Ngoc Dinh, 18, from Phu Yen, has studied at the Lam Dong Center for Inclusive Education Development Support for more than three years. He is also one of the students who has remained with the baking class since 2025.
After nine months of learning and practice, Dinh can now make around 10 types of cakes. He hopes to open a small bakery after graduation and pass on his skills to others in similar circumstances.
Lang Art is a coffee space and bakery located within the Lam Dong Center for Inclusive Education Development Support, with members of the Deaf community participating in its operation. It provides students with a place to practice baking, serve customers, communicate and become familiar with a real working environment. Lang Art is also the venue for vocational training classes under the “Chu Cuoi Ve Lang” community project.
Developing Skills, Sharing Care
The students not only practice during regular classes but also take part in large-scale baking sessions. At the end of 2025, Thanh Chau, together with Deaf students and supporting volunteers, made more than 70,000 loaves of bread to send to people affected by flooding in central Vietnam and several areas of Lam Dong that suffered damage from flash floods.
For the students, these sessions also provided hands-on vocational training in real-world conditions. They divided tasks into groups, followed production procedures, met deadlines and completed specific quantities of products.
These requirements differ from making just a few cakes in the classroom, helping the students gain a clearer understanding of the work involved in a professional bakery.
The activities also bring a sense of joy and fulfillment to the Deaf students. Having often been the recipients of care and support, they can now make useful products with their own hands and contribute to the community.
Building Skills and Confidence for the Future
One of the new elements of the program in 2026 is the addition of marketing training for Deaf students. They are taught how to introduce their products, build personal images and reach customers through digital platforms.
TikTok channels are also being developed, giving students an additional platform to practice communication and sales skills.
Tran Thi Trang, director of the “Chu Cuoi Ve Lang” community project, said: “People who have vocational skills but lack the ability to bring their products to market may face difficulties in becoming independent. Therefore, the program has expanded from technical training to teaching students how to introduce products and reach customers through social media. The training is not limited to students learning to bake. Deaf students learning crochet, beverage preparation and sewing are also guided in developing TikTok channels suited to their individual skills and interests.”
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Inside the kitchen at Lang Art, new batches of cakes are once again being prepared. Chau demonstrates each step, the students observe, and then take turns practicing.
From the awkward movements of their first days, many students can now make a cake on their own. Their hours in the classroom are gradually turning into concrete vocational experience: learning how to bake, how to work together and, step by step, how to bring their products to customers.
The “Chu Cuoi Ve Lang” community project donated a creative library to children in remote areas of Dam Rong Commune 4, Lam Dong, in 2023. In 2024, it donated 20 computers to support students' learning in Dam Rong Commune 2, Lam Dong.
In 2025, the project shifted its focus to supporting disadvantaged children and organized vocational baking classes for Deaf students. In 2026, it continued with advanced baking training for 15 students, while adding personal marketing and branding classes for nine students and basketball classes for 42 Deaf children at the Lam Dong Center for Inclusive Education Development Support in Cam Ly - Da Lat Ward.
*The term “Deaf people” is used in accordance with the community’s own preferred identity. The term affirms the cultural identity of the Deaf community and its pride in sign language.