'Silent' Bakery makes a noise about new owner

English Rednet

26th July 2022

'Silent' Bakery makes a noise about new owner

A well-known "silent" bakery in Changsha, Hunan province, has found a new owner, a compatriot of the German couple that ran it for more than a decade.

After living in the city for 20 years and running the bakery, which employs deaf-mute bakers, for 11 years, Uwe Brutzer and his wife Dorothee recently returned to their hometown in Germany. As a result, they entrusted the bakery to Markus Hofmueller.

In 2002, the Brutzers, who are both fluent in sign language, arrived in Changsha to work for a deaf-mute children's assistance project funded by a German charity. They opened the bakery in 2011, after realizing the difficulties many deaf people have in finding decent job opportunities.

The business now has six deaf-mute bakers, and has trained more than 20 others over the years.

"Whenever we felt too tired to persist, we always told ourselves that we were doing something meaningful by helping the bakers learn skills to support their families," Uwe Brutzer said, adding that the experience has been extremely fulfilling.

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