Lee Abela - My Story

Lee Abela’s Sweet Vision: From a Maltese Stevia Dream to Braille Wellbeing for a New Generation

An 11-year-old blind student from Għaxaq is turning his passion for stevia into a vision for agriculture, inclusion and child-friendly products

For Lee Abela, vision has never depended on sight.

 

Born blind as an infant in Għaxaq, Lee is still only 11 years old and a school student. Yet, through his involvement with the NGO Visual Non Visual Network, he has developed a remarkable passion for stevia cultivation and practical knowledge that has led him to become known as a Master Stevia Grower.

 

His story began with an ambitious question: could stevia become a new agricultural opportunity for Malta and Gozo?

 

Malta is known for the quality of its agricultural produce, while Rabat has long been associated with farming and the cultivation of a variety of crops. Lee believed that introducing stevia could provide another opportunity to diversify Maltese agriculture while opening the way for new products and forms of entrepreneurship.

 

His friendship with former Agriculture Minister Noel Farrugia encouraged the young stevia enthusiast to pursue the idea. Together, they discussed the possibilities of developing stevia cultivation in Malta and Gozo and giving farmers another crop with which to work.

 

But turning that vision into reality was not easy.

 

Despite numerous attempts to find meaningful and tangible support from the Maltese agricultural authorities for stevia cultivation, the project struggled to gain the backing Lee hoped for.

 

When Malta proved difficult, India opened a door

Through the Visual Non Visual Network, Lee and other blind friends involved in stevia cultivation began looking beyond Malta.

 

Lee's journey has also been supported by fellow blind stevia growers in Malta, who share his interest in developing the crop and its potential locally. At the same time, he has benefited from the knowledge, experience and encouragement of established stevia growers and manufacturers in India, including Agri Natural India.

 

This international connection gave Lee an opportunity to deepen his practical understanding of stevia cultivation and to explore what could eventually be done with the plant beyond simply growing it.

 

For the young Maltese grower, the experience has been significant. While attempts to establish meaningful support for stevia cultivation in Malta proved challenging, India provided an environment in which knowledge, experience and encouragement could be shared.

 

What began as a Maltese agricultural idea therefore developed into an international journey.

 

And remarkably, at the centre of that journey is an 11-year-old student.

 

From growing stevia to creating products

Lee's vision does not stop at the cultivation of the plant.

 

He now wants to take the idea a step further by exploring the development of products that could appeal to children and families.

 

His vision includes stevia-based biscuits, cakes and refreshing drinks, developed under the Braille Wellbeing concept.

 

The idea is not simply to introduce another sweetener. Lee wants to explore products that bring together agriculture, food, inclusion and entrepreneurship, while offering consumers alternatives in the way sweetness is incorporated into food and drinks.

 

The nutritional value, of course, will depend on the complete formulation of each product. But Lee's ambition is clear: to create products that are enjoyable and suitable for a new generation while giving stevia a more visible place in the food sector.

 

And there is another important dimension.

 

The Braille Wellbeing identity carries a message of inclusion. Lee wants to demonstrate that people with visual impairment can participate not only as consumers, but as growers, creators, innovators and entrepreneurs.

 

A network built on inclusion

Lee's story is therefore bigger than one young person growing stevia.

 

Around him is a network of blind people in Malta who have become involved in stevia cultivation, together with international contacts and experienced growers and manufacturers in India.

 

This cooperation has allowed knowledge to move in both directions—from Malta to India and from India back to Malta.

 

For Lee, the experience has demonstrated that an idea does not have to stop because the first door is difficult to open.

 

Sometimes, another door can be found much further away.

 

A journey bigger than blindness

Lee's story is not about asking people to focus on what he cannot see.

 

It is about focusing on what he can achieve.

 

Born blind, he has nevertheless developed a passion for agriculture and a specialist interest in a crop that remains relatively unfamiliar in Malta. Through Visual Non Visual Network and the support of fellow blind growers in Malta and experienced stevia professionals in India, he has continued developing his knowledge.

 

His ambition is now moving from the field towards the marketplace.

 

The next stage for Braille Wellbeing is to explore the appropriate route for bringing its products to Malta, while ensuring that all relevant food, safety, regulatory and commercial requirements are properly addressed.

 

A dream still in its early stages

There is something particularly fitting about stevia being at the heart of Lee's story.

 

A plant begins as something small. With the right conditions, care and patience, it grows.

 

So does a young person.

 

“Lee is still growing as a student—and so is his stevia dream.”

 

At only 11 years old, Lee has already taken an idea that began in Malta into an international setting, developed practical knowledge of stevia cultivation and begun imagining a future range of Braille Wellbeing products for children and families.

 

Whether his vision ultimately leads to wider stevia cultivation in Malta, locally available biscuits and cakes, refreshing drinks, or other products yet to be imagined, his journey is already demonstrating something important.

 

Being born blind has not limited the size of Lee Abela's vision.

 

His story is still being written.

 

And, like the stevia plant itself, it may have considerably more growth ahead.