Trikado

Trikado is a shop. Mentally handicapped people work there. They help the customers, wrap presents or sell articles. It is a really nice shop. Most of the products that are sold are made at Triambacht. But there are also wooden toys and other things which come from the factory.




Coby Palma started this shop. Coby is a PM, which means that she is a personal mentor. In May 2003 she worked for two years at Trikado. “In the beginning, I wanted to make a catering business, but due to financial problems, I started a shop run by mentally handicapped people.”

Coby was inexperienced so she was a trainee in a same sort of shop in Utrecht. When she was finished as a trainee she made advertisements for clients. Shortly after, she did a sort of application. She chose seven clients, and with those she did a training. During this training the people learned basic stuff which people without a handicap find normal. Some of these things were:
-well taken care of yourself
-know how to get on with people
-learn how to serve
-learn how to deal with money and the cash desk

They work a lot with pictograms. Pictograms are easy pictures which show in one time what they mean. These are used because a lot of mentally handicapped people can’t read. At the cash desk for example is a button which shows a cup. They have to push this button if people want to pay their cup of coffee.

The shop opened in September 2001 to practise. In April 2002 they seriously started . They got a lot of attention by media.

Trikado isn’t in the centre of Almere but in a district. Coby tells that this isn’t a problem. “If we were placed in the centre too many customers will come, which we can’t deal with. Now the clients can practise because they have all the time, due to fewer customers. Maybe, in some years we will move to the centre, but if so, we need to have practised enough.”



The shop

“It’s going very well, but difficult” says Coby.
Nowadays five clients work in the shop: Marco, Stephan, Menno, Maurice and Wendy. Also, two trainees help. “We used to have more trainees, but the clients need to be able to cope the ‘pressure’. It isn’t just for fun, we suspect things from them.” Every day they get a task. This task may consist of cash by the cash desk, receive customers and show them the shop, serve coffee or tea, and pick up the phone.
“The clients see this as a job, but I hope they can get further, and work later in a supermarket or something like that.”



In the back of the shop costumers of Trikado can drink their coffee or tea. There are little tables and chairs where they can sit and there is an automatic coffee machine. The clients serve you.

There are two meeting rooms. People can hire them. The clients bring coffee and tea to you when you need it.



Nice presents

As we already told, the clients sell self-made products and products from the factory. Examples of self-made products are candles, textile (like shawls and rugs), earthenware products (like vases and dishes), and art. At the pages about Triambacht and Atteljee, you can read more about it.

The clients work maximal four days a week. This is so, because other wise it’s too much for them. When it’s quiet Coby or the other trainees, learn the clients about money and cleaning the shop. Coby’s parole is: “It’s their shop and I’m hired to coach them, but it’s their place.”

Trikado is opened from 10.00 pm until 16.00 am, Monday to Friday. Sometimes, they are opened on Saturday but then the clients have to work in their free time.





The address of Trikado is:
Govert Flinckstraat 10
1318 KK Almere
the Netherlands

Maurice is one of the clients who works at Trikado.
Here you can read an interview with him.