The Garden Cafe: An Experiment in Vocational Education in the Philippines

The author visited Bohol, a picturesque island in the Philippines 350 miles south of Manila, in 1986 and 1990 to observe and record the emerging deaf culture. Before the Peace Corps started a school program on the island some eight years ago, deaf children grew up functionally illiterate. Those who have not been found and are not enrolled in the fledgling school program still do, as they are completely isolated from the deaf community. This article describes heroic efforts to teach vocational skills to the deaf in Bohol. The project not only succeeded but led to the island's best restaurant, The Garden Cafe.