About Us
Our social enterprise, incredibly, has roots going back 150 years.
Our castle campus was built in 1560
In the 1870s, many blind people lived in poor conditions on the streets of Dublin and depended on the charity of others to survive. Perceiving a lack of support for this group but also their human potential, the Carmelite Brothers founded a weaving and basketmaking workshop for men in Drumcondra Castle. It was hoped that the acquisition of vocational and craft skills would allow for greater financial and social independence - and this worked.
150 years later, times have changed but we still see a need to proactively address a large gap in Irelands current employment system. Only about 12.5% of people with multiple disabilities have a job - we believe that this figure does not reflect the capabilities and interests of people like us.
That's why our team has developed our social enterprises: to train and empower young people with vision impairments and blindness to become the most independent and socially engaged versions of themselves possible. We're exploring the inclusive workplace and blended teams while making natural and ethical products.
What We Do
We provide specialist training and work experience in a number of different areas:
- Natural soap and cosmetics making
- Weaving and knitting
- Confidential shredding
- Horticulture
Our team supports each individual to learn comprehensive skills that are required for entry to the world of work. We aim to increase self-belief and encourage a sense of pride and ownership, while bringing about financial independence.
CanDo Enterprises is about shining a light on people's abilities. We believe that our participants should be supported to have meaningful, enriched and deep lives - just like everyone else.