“CAREmels by AiLA” Social Enterprise Development

The Cause

Our CAREmels project is Autism Independent Living Association's first ever social enterprise. AiLA is an autism led charity in Edmonton, with a mission to support autistic adults with moderate needs, to develop their full potential in their journey toward independence and being a contributing member of their community. Our main project is to build an intentional, supportive housing community for autistic adults in Edmonton, for which we’ve been actively working with housing developers in the city. A key element is that residents have direct input into its development and operations, and another is that it support a business enterprise that offers a sustainable source of employment and training for autistic adults. Whatever the venture, whether a bakery or bookbinding shop, the enterprise will serve the community as well as our autistic population. Alongside is one of AiLA’s pillars – to help build member’s life-skills through training and other initiatives so as to raise their capacity in areas such as personal finances, employability and more. Our CAREmels venture is one such opportunity. It was launched in December 2023 in the kitchen of the mom of one of our autistic members. With the help of AiLA’s members, our team cooked over 1000 caremels, named "CAREmels", using a recipe she’d perfected over the previous months. We’ve been selling our delicious, small batch CAREmels at various functions, and we’re now hoping to expand into a commercial operation. But we first need to perfect the recipe, create a business plan and do market research. This will all fulfil our promise to members to support them in skills development, as they will be in the driver’s seat of CAREmels product development. Training our members is a key part of this. Our CAREmels have already been welcomed by a small customer base, and now we’re ready to sell them to the wider community. We hope the Field Law fund will help build on this invaluable opportunity for our organization. It will not only give AiLA steady revenue, it will open up possibilities for a business model that can be integrated into our big dream – an affordable housing community that offers employment & training for autistic adults in our city.

Who Will it Benefit?

AiLA’s core members are autistic adults in Edmonton and area, along with their parents and allies. With autism comes challenges in areas of executive functioning, social interactions, adapting to change, and more. Attendant to these personal challenges are social complications such as low income, barriers to steady employment and lack of independent housing.
Canada Statistics puts the percentage of Canadians with autism at around 2%. From this and the 19-plus population of Edmonton, we estimate there are approximately 13,000 autistic adults in Edmonton. At AiLA we know that once these individuals transition into adulthood, many of the government and other supports available to autistic youth drop away. They become vulnerable to impeded access to the job market and the critical shortage of affordable housing, as well as impediments such as social isolation, low self-esteem and mental health issues. Our social enterprise project, to shift our small batch, handmade CAREmels into a commercial operation, will have exponential benefits for our members. They’re a delicious, relatively low cost product that our members can learn to cook and wrap, and we’ve already seen how they’ve been well received in terms of sales and brand acceptance. This project allows people like autistic members Kyle, Janae and Mathieson – all highly motivated 30+ adults – an opportunity for attaining steady employment and potentially a meaningful career in the ‘foodie’ sector in their city.
Our request, to fund the initial business planning, marketing and feasibility studies and recipe improvement, will be the first step in our quest to break into Edmonton’s commercial market, and beyond. Members will get training in marketing, sales and product development. They will not only be learning to produce our product under the guidance of a certified professional, they will also be learning the skills to successfully expand the business side of the venture. Most importantly, it will give them the confidence and sense of purpose that goes along with being in the driver’s seat of their journey toward independence.
The other beneficiary for our enterprise is AiLA itself. As we move forward in areas of skill development for our membership and eventually affordable housing, our CAREmels venture is a stable source of income and of advancing our mission to give autistic adults a chance at fulfilling their dreams, as independent citizens and as contributing members of their community.