A blind pie-maker whose business is thriving!
Friday, October 30th, 2009Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries
Quoting Michael Field, writing for stuff.co.nz:
When Michael Erasmus talks about his pies looking “pleasing to the eye” it’s surprising. The 22-year-old baker is totally blind in one eye and has only five percent vision in his other eye. His blindness was caused by a condition which affected his optic nerve from birth. Blindness, he says, would have affected him “if I acted as if it was a problem…. ”If I concentrate on that I am going to go downhill. I don’t even think about that…. ”I grew up and learnt how to do everything in this condition, so I haven’t let this be a problem.” Erasmus is an ambassador for the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind’s annual Blind Week appeal running this week. Starting a new business in a recession holds no fears for the Whangaparaoa man, as he seeks to open up a chain of pie shops called Nomads. One shop is open already, the other opens next month. ”I think that is all opportunity if it wasn’t for the recession we would not be able to pick up our equipment for half price.” He knows how hard it is for disabled people to get jobs, so is determined in Nomads to hire people in similar situations to him. ”I think something good can happen there.” He specializes in selling a pack that includes a gourmet pie, mashed potato, gravy and peas. ”These pies are a lot different; they are different to any bakery pie.”
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