A palette is a tool on which paints are mixed. New colors are created on a palette when the different colors on it meet.Replacing “color” with “people”, we hope to create new opportunities for different kinds of people to meet and communicate, regardless of disability, gender, or race.

Palette started with the Ebisu Youth Class, which was a gathering place run by the Shibuya Ward Education Committee where youth with intellectual disabilities could receive social education.In 1983, Tamari-ba Palette (Palette Hang-out) was founded for leisure activities when volunteers at the Ebisu Youth Class became concerned when they realized the narrow range of human relationships and restricted living sphere of the youth there.The volunteers created an infrastructure in which youth with intellectual disabilities could act and gather at ease on a daily basis.

In 1985, Okashi-ya Palette (Palette Confectionery) was founded as a workplace. In 1991, Sri Lanka Restaurant Palette (another workplace) was founded; in 1993, Ebisu Palette Home (for living support); and most recently, Palette International (for international exchange and support) was founded. We continue activities that value the meeting and collaboration of people. The activities of Palette are supported by the members of NPO Palette.