Expats get lessons on life in the Capital

A British expatriate for six years now, she has made it her “business” to helping other expats find household staff.

Since its establishment in 2007, Domesteq has registered nearly 1,200 English-speaking household staff and has verified all their references. A registration fee of Rs 2,000 enables people to interview the company staff and access files to find a cook or the perfect domestic help.

But the placement of staff is only one of the services Domesteq provides to those new to Delhi.

With about 10,000 expatriates living here and their number growing every year, Domesteq has been expanding operations. Its services now range from courses for expats to household training and “corporate settling-in” packages.

“We teach expats the language of how to live in India,” Runacres said. Her courses teach clients how to find their way around Delhi, how to cook Indian food and how to manage household staff.

Alice Gough (44), a British expatriate and mother of three, attended a class called ‘Thrive and Survive: Learning to live in Delhi’. “It was good. I learnt about the places where you can shop and eat, and also got to know what you do on festivals,” she said. In her Household Management Basics course, she was taught how to deal with their three employees and their work contracts.

Domesteq not only trains expatriates but also their household staff. Expatriates can pay the company to train their domestic help to keep an emergency situation under control, to keep the children occupied or to cook western cuisine.

Gough had her cook take a Western cooking class. “It was very helpful, and gave my cook more ideas and confidence,” she said.

Many of Domesteq’s clients are NRIs who are coming back home. “They come here and think it is familiar but they have a hard time,” Runacres said.

Runacres is now developing corporate services. She is already working with several foreign companies that want their expatriates to be settled as quickly as possible in India.

Cedric Chaux (33), a French expatriate, is one of those who benefited from theses packages. “We had arrived without any preparations and I had a lot of work,” he said.

French bank Societe Generale used Domesteq’s services so that Chaux did not have to worry about anything. For a week, Runacres helped him and his family with the work done in their house, to furnish it and in getting to know the main places of Delhi. “Shawn helped me sell the vision of living in India to my family,” said Chaux.

Runacres plans to expand her business and set up similar establishments in other Indian cities later this year.