I
n 1962, a group of Mallorcan families came together with the idea of starting an organisation that would help support their family members with intellectual disabilities. Rather than forming a charity that would collect funds to help with the day to day, they had a very progressive vision of creating a structure that would give support and purpose to their family member’s lives, and which would aid them in being a part of the everyday world. This idea, visionary not only for the time in which it was developed, but even by today’s standards, evolved into the socially progressive organisation called Esment, which today serves over 2000 adults and children on the island, with nearly 900 employees.
Esment is a Mallorquin word that means to do something with care, love, or careful attention, and this is exactly the approach that it has carried since its first days. Their mission is to provide resources so that people can develop and succeed. “We have an obsession that people feel seen and respected and that they have this feeling for themselves and for others,” explains Mercedes Marrero Fuster, Communications Director for Esment.
Today, the ‘campus’ of Esment includes schools in Palma and in Inca, where people receive education and training, restaurants in Palma and in Palmanova, a recently opened café in Inca and a new bread shop in El Terreno, all of which employ people with intellectual disabilities, from the cooks and bakers to the servers. In addition, there is Casa Esment, essentially the new HQ for the foundation, opened in 2019, where all of their ideas and projects come together.
