An exciting collaboration between two Manx businesses has resulted in the introduction of Braille menus for the first time at Italian restaurant Just Pizza and Pasta.

Natasha Molyneux-Smith is the founder of Dot & Type - an independent brand that specialises in producing and transcribing Braille for individuals and companies. This includes food and drink menus, large posters and signage.

She said: ‘I previously worked in education for seven years, part of the vision support service, and in that time, I was working with a young lady. I worked with her from Year 4 to Year 11.’

‘So in that space of time, I saw where there was huge gaps in her life, from access to things like menus, party invites, birthday cards, and it was that kind of stuff that really led me to create Dot & Type.’

Owner of Just Pizza and Pasta, Mitch Sorbie, first discovered Dot & Type through an online post on social media.

He said: ‘I just think it's very unfair that people that are totally blind are excluded from the whole restaurant experience.’

‘When I saw a post online about Tasha starting a new business, I thought: “Wow, that's exactly what I need to do”.

‘I've been looking for someone to do this for a long time. So let's help a local business, a new business, and let's help our local people that are either partially sighted, that read Braille or are fully blind, and they require Braille.’

The menus are available now at Just Pizza and Pasta, if someone requires or wishes to use them all they need to do is request one from a member of staff - and in Mitch Sorbies words they will: ‘Give them with a smile’.

The second Thursday in October is marked annually as ‘World Sight Day’. This is a global event that draws attention towards blindness and visual impairment.

Samantha Jade Ash has been blind since birth and has always lived in the island except when she went to UK for education purposes.

She discussed the initiative, from her perspective as someone with a visual impairment: ‘It's brilliant. I mean, you go into a restaurant nowadays and they plonk a menu in front of you and you can't read it.

‘You should be able to be given the menu. Open it, look at what's there, and go: “Oh, I think I'll have lasagne, or I think I'll have margherita” and you should be able to do that via reading the Braille.

‘You shouldn't have to get all your various bits of technology out just to read it, because they rely on the internet. So you need something that doesn't rely on the internet. Braille is brilliant.’

Natasha added: ‘Imagine if we in the Isle of Man could have all our restaurants with Braille menus. Then you'll have people from the UK and all over the world coming over to an accessible island.’