Freeset birthday update

8/4/2019 Freeset birthday update

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September 2011 Newsletter

And we want to help you too. Watch out or Freeset Business Incubator. This new companywill provide training and mentoring or aspiringentrepreneurs drawn to planting new businesses

in villages where tra cking is at epidemic levelsand amongst women who have already beensold and are trapped in prostitution.

We dream about a uture ull o reedom. Whenwe celebrate 20 years we hope to look back at

reedom that has been on o er or thousands – the best bir thday present ever.

Regards

I’m not really into birthdays to be honest. There’smore un to be had celebrating someone else’srather than notching up another year o myown. Perhaps it’s because I’m pushing 50,

who knows? This much is true though: whenwe are young we ocus on dreams or the utureand not so much on our short past. Gettingolder tends to change our perspective on li equite a bit, orcing us to give greater priority to

the past and the memories gathered along theway. At just 10 years old Freeset will be doingboth – looking back and celebrating reedom

ound, but with a rm eye on the uture. We’ll bedreaming about reedom or the many who have

yet to begin that journey. The past ten years willprovide us with plenty o motivation and energy to dare to believe that reedom can and will beon o er or thousands and thousands o womenstill “standing in line.” We invite you to share in

those dreams, or better still, walk alongside usby partnering with us in the journey.

We’re starting to dream new dreams too.

For ten years now Freeset has been in thebusiness o providing reedom opportunities or women trapped in prostitution and we’re going tokeep doing that. But now, we’re also dreamingabout new business opportunities in the villageswhere girls as young as 9 are stolen. We’re sayingit’s not good enough to just wait or girls to bestolen and then sold into our neighbourhood. It’s

time to do business in the rural villages where these girls come rom, time to provide economicsolutions, empowerment and voice to amilies at

the mercy o poverty and tra cking. And, we’relooking or people brave enough to trade in their “white picket ence” dream or a reality ar morevaluable – reedom.



The rst meeting with interested women tookplace in June, 2001. One o the women recalledo that meeting, “I was a bit skeptical o them but

thought they looked like good people who mixedwell with us. As we became riends I trusted themmore.“ Trust was a big issue or women who hadbeen betrayed by many and disappointed by

oreigners who had come be ore promising help,but who had delivered little.

Freeset began 10 years ago on September 17th2001 with 20 women in 5 small rented rooms.

Kerry and Annie Hilton are a couple rom NewZealand who came to Kolkata to live and workamong the poor in 1999. A ter quite unintention-ally moving into a red light area in the city, theydeveloped a passion or nding ways or women

to become ree o the sex trade. They invested time learning to speak Bengali and building relationships in the community around them. One

night Annie ran out o four and while out withKerry searching to nd more, they met Priya. Shewas involved in a local women’s clinic that wasclosing down and Kerry noticed their sign-boardin the back o the little shop. A ter only a coupleo minutes o conversation they discovered their common interest o bringing reedom to thewomen o the area. Priya became the doorwayinto the community.

The women were excited - though a little anxious- to be involved with the cleaning and paintingo the rooms, where they would begin workingin this business or reedom. They made quitea sight as they went home those rst ew daysall covered in dust. Soon it was time to learn thesewing…

Most o the women had never used a sewingmachine and many were illiterate. Some weren’teven convinced they would be able to master thisnew skill. “I learned to sew on a pedal machine.I couldn’t get the machine to work at rst... Then,when I nally got the machine to work I couldn’tsew.” recalls Bharati who goes on to say, ”OnceKerry gave me some rope to cut and a hardboard to cut it on. I cut right through the boardand scratched the foor. Kerry gave me the kni e

to cut with because I couldn’t use scissors.“ Butshe has ound her place at Freeset and althoughsewing wasn’t her thing, she says, “I am good atcutting and nishing, and I enjoy it.”

Annie says o those early days, “Once we thought they had ound every wrong way possible to sewa bag, they would surprise us by discovering anew one. But they worked hard and eventually

they got it.” Parul recalls how productivity hasbeen a struggle too, “In the beginning out o 20women... we used to make 30 bags per day.”Kerry was always looking or ways to ensureFreeset would be a sustainable business, “My

In the beginning…

Wome n a t the f rs t m ee ting

P r e p a r ing the r oom s f o r w or k!


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concern was that i the women could never improve the quality and quantity then at somepoint the business would have to be shut down...I used to say, ‘I you make 2 bags per day try tomake 3, i you make 3, then try to make 4.’”

Freeset’s rst order was or 1000 bags toHuckleberry Farms in New Zealand. Production

began at the beginning o January 2002 and with just 20 women resh out o training, the order tookabout 3 months to complete including some longdays. “In the rst order I made 50 bad gussets”says Kundula, “Kerry was very particular so I had

to re-sew 50 gussets”. Relieved when they got

the call rom the customer saying they liked thebags, Freeset had a hard-earned celebration.

The rst payday marked an important milestoneor the women working at Freeset. For Bharati, it

was about trust; “When we started getting paid, then I elt that the Hilton’s were really trustworthy.”For Kundula that rst pay was about reedom,“Kerry asked who was willing to quit the line.I was the rst one to put up my hand and say

‘Yes’. I promised to Kerry, whatever salary I amgiven I will quit the [sex] line and would never look back.”

During the rst month on ull-pay, two womenwho had not been o cially employed keptcoming to work each day despite being told thatFreeset couldn’t a ord to pay them. At the endo the month each o the paid women pooledmoney rom their own salaries and gave it to

the two women themselves. Kerry says, “The

women taught me a great lesson and I realized then that I had a lot to learn rom these women.”

Ten years later Freeset has purchased twobuildings where nearly 200 women work eachday. Last year Freeset made 175,000 bags and42,000 T-shirts. While many have been involvedin the journey that has become Freeset, nonedeserve the credit more than the courageouswomen o Freeset themselves.

Perhaps one o the women says it best, “I reallyeel very happy to see Freeset in today’s position.

We’ve made it a long way rom 10 years back to today. I just pray, as we ormed the oundation oFreeset, it becomes a place o reedom to manywomen in the uture.”

F r e e se t s ta r te d out w ith p e d a l- p ow e r e d sew ing m achine s



Kerry and Annie Hiltonarrive in Kolkata.Begin learning Bengaliand getting to know

the community.Discover they livenext to Sonagacchi- Kolkata’s largest red-light district.

Nov1999

The Hilton’s meetPriya Mishra roma struggling NGOworking with womenwanting to leave thesex trade. A riendshipdevelops and Priyaintroduces the Hiltons

to Mena.

Late2000

Hiltons meet with agroup o women todiscuss setting up abusiness or them.The women are waryo oreigners making

promises to help…

June2001

The rst 20 womenbegin renovatingFreeset’s rentedpremises ready tostart training. Theyare excited about

the opportunity butapprehensive aboutwhether they willactually be able to learn

to sew on the pedalsewing machines.

17 Sep2001

With trainingcomplete, Freesetbegins work on the

rst order. It’s not allplain sailing! Manymistakes are madeand long hours areworked to get theorder nished toa standard ready

or shipping to the

customer.

Jan2002

Freeset ships its rstorder o 1000 bags toNZ. The women havea party to celebrate

the achievement. Thecustomer loves thebags!

March2002

Triplenine So twarePvt Ltd starts trading- it was the legalcompany under whichFreeset was rst

registered.

1 April2002

“Calcutta Hilton” -documentary aboutFreeset is lmed.

Jan2004

Freeset completes the purchase o 172Ramesh Dutta Streetand moves in with 30women. This marks thebeginning o years orenovating the building

to make it more suitableor use as a productionacility. Freeset has

room to grow again andbegins employing more

women.Dec2004




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Freeset employs a total o50 women- Freeset switches toelectric sewing machines- Backup generator installed

2005

Freeset establishesits own in-housescreen-printing acility.Another steep learningcurve is begun!

2006

Freeset establishes adaycare nursery or thepre-school children oFreeset sta . this meant

that children no longer needed to be le t vulnerable

to abuse in the sex laneso Sonagacchi while their mothers were at work.

2006

Development work isbegun on learning tomake t-shirts

2008

Freeset tees o ciallybegins taking orders.

2009

Freeset takes possessiono No.10 Ramesh DuttaStreet. Another large-scale renovation e ortis begun with the helpo enthusiatic volunteers

rom all around the globe.

June2009

Freeset employs a totalo 180 women whohave chosen a li e ree

o the sex trade. Freesetcelebrates 10 years inbusiness or reedom!

Sep2011

Freeset introducescotton bags into its

range o stock bags.2011

Freeset o cially changesits company name toFreeset Bags & ApparelPvt Ltd.

2010

A water ltration plantis installed thanks

to the generosity odonors rom Timaru inNew Zealand.

2010

Renovation to rooms on the top foor o No.10 arecompleted. Freeset tees

moves in.

Oct2009



Freeset o ers a big, “Thank you!” to the manypeople who have contributed to our successover the last 10 years!

We wish we could mention each o you byname but so many o you have sacri ced o your resources, time and energy to make Freeset abetter place or the women.

A steady stream o committed volunteers havelled strategic roles in management to help

keep the business running. Some have stayedwith us or one year, others up to six. Most haveserved the business on-site in Kolkata, braving

the challenges o li e here, while others havecontributed rom their homes around the world.

We are grate ul or those who have given o their

expertise, skills, and vision to help develop Freesetinto the place o reedom that it is today. Withoutassistance developing saleable products andestablishing sound business practices we wouldnot have been able to achieve the success wehave in selling to the international marketplace.

Generous nancial contributions have enabledFreeset to buy buildings, creating physical space

or the business to grow - o ering reedom to

even more women.

Last year while a team was sweating it out withsome heavy laboring, one o the Freeset womenasked, “How much do they get paid or this?”She was amazed to hear that not only were thevolunteers working or ree, but that they actuallypaid their own way to do so!

The women appreciate not only the work doneby volunteers, but also the warm riendships that

they o ten develop. Bharati recalls ondly that,“Even though the visitors and us speak totally

di erent languages, still they become riendswith us.”

The Hilton amily have provided continuity andvision throughout this decade, leading thedetermined e ort to ensure that Freeset is asustainable success and welcome part o our community. “I never expected that oreignerswould become our riends and share ood withus. It was beyond my imagination.“ says Mena.

And last but not least, thanks to everyone whohas bought Freeset bags - without you we wouldnot have a business to celebrate!

Volunteers

J ane & Dan McK o wn

- repre sen t ing Free se t in t he U SA

Pam se lling F r e e se t b ag s in New Z e a land




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Ou r G M, K arl We aich sit ting on a ru bbi sh b in!



Lives transformed

in the women’s own words

“ I ne v e r l o o k b ac k t o t h e l i f e I h ad

b e f o re . I a m a f re e p e r s o n n o w.”

-J a na t a

“Freeset is very signi cant tome. It is a place for freedom…..Freeset is for all the women in

the line. This is the only place for their freedom. Whoever is not inthe line can get a job anywherebut the women in line have noopportunity to get a decent job.” -Santoshi

“ I w is h all t h e w o m e n i n l i n e c o u ld ge t f r e e d o m

b y c o m in g her e. I w a n t F r e e s e t t o g r o w m o r e .”

- Sa n d iya




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“When I was in line and when I used to get a lot of money (though irregularly), I never had any planning or had to intention of saving. But after working here and getting used to drawing a regular salary, I have learned how to keep a balance between things and how to save.” – Bebe

“Te diference between the jobs ofered by Freeset and any other jobs is the women in the line are considered totally untouchable to any other employer inour society. We are not even considered

regular human beings. In contrast tothat Freeset is providing identity to these women by ofering them jobs. So Freeset is more about reedom than just a mere job.” -Mena

“ T h e

d a y I g o t m y f i r s t s a l a r y wa s t h e m o s t

m e m o r a b l e d a y o f m y l i f e . T h a t d a y I c h o s e

t h e p a t h t o f r e e d o m . ” - K u n d u l a

“ W h e n w e c o m e t o F r e e s e t w e f e e l l i k e i t i s o u r f a m i l y. I c a n ’ t w a i t

t o c o m e t o w o r k w h e n I’ m a t h o m e .”

- M e n a



We are pleased to announce Freeset’s newestinitiative, Tamar. Like Freeset, Tamar seeks

to come alongside women in their journey towards reedom. Where Freeset seeks toachieve reedom or women through business,Tamar will seek reedom through a communitydevelopment approach.

Tamar has been able to secure a room or rent on the main road in Sonagacchi, Kolkata’s largestred light district. This o ce, located in the hearto the red-light district will serve as a drop incenter/resource hub/sa e space or the womeno Freeset; the women working with like-mindedorganizations; and or the commercial sexworkers in Sonagacchi.

Tamar is still in its in ancy. Currently we are

ocusing our time and energy on sorting through the legal structure o Tamar, setting up the o ceand building relationships with the women in thecommunity. As Tamar develops and takes fight,we ask you to journey with us as we dream andwork towards a community that can one dayknow and experience reedom.

Tamar

T a king p os s e s ion o f the ne w T a m a r p r e m is e s




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