2012 Annual Report

22012 Annual Report

2012 Annual Report

4 Community of Freedom and Joy Mission & Vision

A Social Business

Empowerment & Sustainability

Hope & Freedom

Governance

8 Organizational Structure

9 Our Journey Kolkata Units

Canning Prevention Unit

Distribution Channel Expansion

12 Sari Bari Today Recruitment

Training

Producer Forums

Leadership School

Retention Rates

BenefitsofEmploymentatSariBari

16 Sari Bari Tomorrow In the Coming Year

Within the Next Three Years

17 Partner for Freedom Impact of Your Partnership

Take Action

19 Contact

42012 Annual Report

Community of Freedom and Joy

A woman who wants freedom for herself is courageous.

A woman who desires freedom and a better

life for her own daughter is inspired.

Prianka is both courageous and inspired.

Prianka was abandoned by her husband in a village in Bangladesh. Left

without resources or a means to support her young daughter, she came

to Kolkata about a year and half ago in search of work. Unfortunately, like

many other women in dire circumstances in Kolkata, she found that the only

work available was in a red light area, and she was forced to sell her body

in a brothel. Her life was one of quiet desperation and survival until she was

invited by one of the Sari Bari women to find a new life at Sari Bari.

From the start of her time at Sari Bari, Prianka has embodied a spirit of

courageous hope. She has been inspired and driven by a desire to make a

new way for herself and her daughter. After diving whole-heartedly into the

training at Sari Bari, she graduated in September, ready to start her new life as

a skilled artisan and as an empowered woman of freedom. Prianka recently

shared that she already sees good things happening as she moves from

“want” to “enough,” and she believes for abundance in the days to come.

Prianka’s life is a freedom story in the making and one that will inspire

many more women to walk into a life of FREEDOM and HOPE.

52012 Annual Report

Mission & Vision

Sari Bari seeks the sustainable restoration of red light communities and the prevention

of the exploitation of women and children in the commercial sex trade. Sari Bari offers

a safe place of employment where women who have been exploited in the sex trade

orwhoarevulnerabletotraffickingcanexperiencea new life in the making. Sari Bari

is a business producing beautiful, handmade, vintage sari products, but the heart

of Sari Bari is its women who have survived Kolkata’s red light areas and who have

taken brave steps into new life, freedom, and hope. Sari Bari is upheld and driven

by its belief in community, holism, freedom, dignity, hope, and empowerment.

A Social Business

SariBarifunctionsasbothafor-profitbusinessaswellasaNon-profitTrust.Thisunique

hybridmodelfacilitatesabusinesswhichisdrivenbyasociallybeneficialmission.

Through this social business model,SariBarireliesonprofitsfromsalesaswellasgrants

from funding sources in order to expand its capacity to serve women in poverty who

are currently, or who are at risk for, being exploited through the commercial sex industry.

Empowerment & Sustainability

Sari Bari seeks to provide a distinct focus on developing and sustaining economically,

educationally, and socially empowering opportunities for women in poverty who

have already, or are at risk for, experiencing the loss of freedom, choice, and dignity

through sexual exploitation. Sari Bari focuses on the empowerment of women so

that they have opportunities to make their own life choices, experience restoration,

and achieve economic security. Sari Bari is also committed to the empowerment

of women to leadership; the leaders of Sari Bari are the greatest advocates for

freedom and the most powerful voices of hope in the local red light areas.

62012 Annual Report

Hope & Freedom

Sari Bari espouses an ethos of hope as well as an unwavering belief in the women's

abilities to achieve both personal freedom and sustainable economic security. This

strong belief is demonstrated in the creation of sustainable positions of employment,

skills training, staff development, HIV housing support, debt relief programs,

educational training, and school support alongside additional programs which

also seek to provide care for the women’s emotional needs and mental health.

Governance

Sari Bari Private Limited – Sari Bari was established as a Private Limited company in

2009 after three years of functioning as a Sole Proprietorship. The Founding Directors

of the company are Sarah Lance, Upendra Prasad Saha, and Gita Mondal Haque. In

2011, Beth Waterman joined the Board of Directors of Sari Bari Private Limited. In 2012,

thefirst14womenofSariBariwereinvitedtobecomeshareholdersinthecompany.

Sari Bari Trust – The Sari Bari Trust was born out of the desire to meet the

on-going needs in the red light areas for women who do not work for Sari Bari

as well as to provide additional services and support to the women of Sari

Bari.TheSariBariTrustisregisteredinIndiaasapubliccharitablenon-profit-

making trust and NGO. It seeks to support projects in the red light areas as well

as programs in Sari Bari Private Limited that fall under the mission of Sari Bari.

Mukti BirthdaysEverywoman’sfirstdayatSariBariiscelebrated with a “Mukti (Freedom) Birthday” cake. New women are celebrated and encouraged as they taketheirfirststepstowardfreedomandnew lives. Mukti Birthdays are celebrated every year in the anniversary months of the women’s freedom birthdays.

82012 Annual Report

Sari Bari Leaders

Sevenwomen(firstnameslistedonly)ontheleadershipstaffwereformerly

part of the commercial sex industry or were in vulnerable positions for being

trafficked.Thedevelopmentandempowermentofthesewomentoleadership

are hallmarks of Sari Bari’s commitment to empowerment, solidarity, and

sustainability. They themselves embody an integral part of the mission of Sari Bari.

Sarah Lance Founder, Managing Director, Creative Director

Upendra Prasad Saha Director of Operations, SB Trust Board Member

Gita Mondal Haque Director, SB Trust Board Member, Production Manager (Canning Prevention Unit)

Beth Waterman Director, Outreach Coordinator, SB Trust Facilitator

Melissa Hayward Aftercare Coordinator

Brooke Taylor Shipping Coordinator

John Das Administrator

Kaushik Das SB Trust Settlor, SB Trust Board Member

Baroti Nandi SB Trust Board Member, Medical Advocate

Organizational Structure

Kalighat UnitRadha Devi Unit Production Manager

Sheila Buiya Quality Control Manager, Trainer

Chaya Assistant Manager

Parul Machine Team Leader

Sonagachi UnitAysha Production Manager

Supriya Assistant Manager

Tinki Quality Control Manager

Canning Prevention UnitAshma Trainer

92012 Annual Report

Our Journey

Sari Bari opened in 2006 after four years of steady presence

and friendships with women in the red light areas of

Kolkata, India. The love, solidarity, and desire for freedom

born out of these friendships became the foundation

of Sari Bari’s work for hope, justice, and freedom.

Kolkata Units

ThefirstSariBariunitwasestablishedinKalighatinFebruary2006withthreewomen

from the local red light area and with three staff members. In November of the

same year, the unit moved to a larger rental space in order to provide opportunities

for freedom for more women in Kalighat. Sari’s Bari’s growth in the early years

wasspurredonbythecommitmentofthefirst12womentofindingfreedomfor

themselves and to being “prophets of freedom” in the red light area as they invited

their sisters onto the freedom road. The Kalighat unit now employs 20 women.

The second unit opened its doors in August 2009 in the heart of

Sonagachi, the largest red light area in Kolkata. 23 women from the dark

lanes of “the gach” embarked on their journey of hope and freedom,

and today, there are 38 skilled artisans at the Sonagachi unit.

The early years of Sari Bari provided the foundation for what Sari Bari has become

today. Many of the women who joined Sari Bari in 2006 and 2007 have become the

managers, trainers, and team leaders at the production units. They have become

indispensable to the business and community, and they are indeed heroes of Sari Bari.

Canning Prevention Unit

TheCanningPreventionUnitwasestablishedinJune2010withthespecificfocusof

prevention in Canning, a village about 33 miles outside of Kolkata. Canning is a high

traffickingsourceareaofIndia,andatthePreventionUnit,employmentisofferedto

youngwomenages17-25whoarelivinginpovertyandatriskfortrafficking.Today

there are 28 women working at this site, and they are participating in life-giving

education and work that will protect them from ever having to enter the sex trade.

102012 Annual Report

Distribution Channel Expansion

From the early years, Sari Bari has developed partnerships with distributors to engage

a wide and diverse population in the cause of freedom. Sari Bari distributes 60% of

its products via partner distributors in the US and the UK and 40% via the Sari Bari

distributor/online store. With increased marketing and distributing capacity, Sari

Bari sales and production have increased drastically and have paved the way for

expansion of the business and as well as increased capacity for freedom and justice.

• 2008 — Global SeeSaw/Freeset UKbecomesSariBari’sfirstdistributor and maintains exclusive distribution in the UK

• 2008 — The Sari Bari website/online store is launched, allowing Sari Bari to further develop and expand as a business through its own US-based distributor

• 2009 — Better Way Imports, a distributor of products contributing to the freedom and livelihood of women who have escaped the sex industry, partners with Sari Bari

• 2010 — Rethreaded, focused on local empowerment, partnership, and employment ofwomenwhodesiretofindfreedomfromthesextradeandfoundedbySari Bari Co-founder Kristin Keen, partners with Sari Bari as a distributor

• 2011 — Kingsland Baptist Church, committed to local and global impact on issues ofhumantrafficking,beginsstockingSariBariproductsintheirFreedomStore

Trafficking and the Sex Trade in India

• AccordingtotheHumanRightsWatch,thereareapproximately15 million people enslaved in prostitution in India1

• Therearenearly300,000brothelsin1,100redlightareasacrossthecountry2

• InthemajorityofcasesinIndia,extremeeconomicdeprivationandlackofeducation are linked to vulnerability to prostitution and sexual exploitation3

• About200girlsandwomenenterintoprostitutioneveryday in India, 80% of them against their will4

• Canningisaknownsourceareafortraffickingaswellasamajorroutefortraffickedvictims5

• InKolkata,anestimated100,000womenaresubjectedto commercial sexual exploitation6

• Thereisanestimated11,000sexworkersinSonagachi7

122012 Annual Report

Sari Bari Today

Since 2006, 144 women have begun their freedom

journeys at Sari Bari. As of December 2012, 86 Sari Bari

skilled artisans, 9 Bengali support staff, and 4 North

American staff make up the Sari Bari community.

Recruitment

Most of the women have joined Sari Bari through invitations of the Sari Bari women

themselves; Sari Bari’s women are the greatest advocates for freedom and resident

beacons of hope in Kolkata’s red light areas. Sari Bari staff also offer friendships to

women in the sex trade through brothel visitation, leading at times to invitations

tofindfreedomthroughemploymentatSariBari(orpartneringbusinesses).

Training

At the start of their employment at Sari Bari, women undergo a training period

for three to six months, in which they participate in education and training

in sewing, reading, writing, math, mental health awareness, budgeting,

and nutrition. As of December 2012, there are 5 women in training at the

three units, most of whom will complete their training by January 2013.

Leadership School

Leadership School began in April 2012 as a means to bring about

further empowerment, restoration, and emotional health to the

women at Sari Bari. It is also an important means of developing internal

infrastructure at Sari Bari in a sustainable and participatory manner.

The goals of Leadership School are:

• todevelopSariBari’sfutureleadersandtocreateafoundationofhealthyand equipped leaders for the expansion and growth of Sari Bari

• toequiptheSariBariwomenwithtoolstobuildandsustain emotionally healthy and whole lives

• tofacilitateteam-buildingamongSariBariemployeesandstaff

The impact of Leadership School has been tremendous not only in the individual

empowerment of the Sari Bari women, but also in the empowerment of Sari Bari as

awholetodevelopfurtherasasociallybeneficialbusiness,asawelcomingand

restorative community, and as a pioneer and beacon for freedom in the red light areas.

132012 Annual Report

Producer Forums

Producer Forums are an avenue through which each of the Sari Bari women are

empowered to have a voice in business and community operations. Meetings

are held on a bi-monthly basis, and issues faced by the company and by the

individual production units are discussed and corporately decided upon. Since the

introduction of Producer Forums in February 2012, the women have contributed to

decisions on salary and raises, quality control standards, and various infrastructure

issues. The overall environment of Sari Bari has been bolstered with deepened

trust among community members as well as a growing understanding of healthy

conflictresolutionanddevelopmentindailyoperationsandcommunitylife.

In the last year, Sari Bari...

• celebrated6yearsofFreedom,86women’sMuktiBirthdays,and 20 new women’s training graduations

• offeredliteracyandsewingtrainingto31women

• distributed5000sunflowerstowomenandchildreninSonagachi for the annual Flower Night in March 2012

• offeredschoolsupporttothechildrenof16SariBariwomenand helped place 2 children in boarding school

• provided$2670.00ininterest-freeloanstotheemployeesofSariBari

• providedaccesstocriticalhealthcarefor17womenreceivingSTDtreatments and for 12 women receiving Well Women’s Check-ups

• collectivelystitched30,426squarefeetofsarimaterialandshippedout 4424 pieces of product between April and Novemeber 2012

• hostedLeadershipSchoolseventimes

• facilitated29ProducerForummeetings

• supportedonewomanthroughrehabilitationforsubstanceabuse

• sponsored6employees,leaders,andstafftoattend“HandsthatHeal” Training for working with victims of sexual exploitation

• WiththehelpofPassion2012,SariBaripurchasedpropertyinSongacchionDecember 4, 2012, which will provide many more opportunities for freedom in 2013

142012 Annual Report

Retention Rates

Sari Bari maintains relatively high retention rates, especially among women

who complete six months to a year of employment. Retention rates after

completing six months of training remain at over 82%, and retention rates

for women who complete one year of employment are 78.5%. Most of the

women who leave Sari Bari do not re-enter the sex trade; they move on to

other positions of employment, get married, or move back to their villages.

Benefits of Employment at Sari Bari

Sari Bari provides the benefits of employment that can help a woman achieve

freedom for herself and her family. Sari Bari is committed to providing fair

wages; reasonable work hours; access to health care and insurance coverage;

educationbenefitsfordependants;paidholidays;retirementbenefits;loan

payoffofpersonaldebt,repaidatnointerest;asafe,dignity-affirming,

and respectful work environment; and paid stipends during training.

Freedom for a Sari Bari Family

Priya began her training with Sari Bari in February of 2007. She came to Sari

Bari with a determination to create a better life for herself and her family.

Early on, Priya struggled as family pressures and doubt nearly snatched

freedomfromhergrasp.Now,fiveyearslater,withafuture-orientedfocus

and an air of determination, she continues to press into freedom.

For years Priya has continued to dream for a better tomorrow for her children. In May

of 2008, Priya received an interest-free loan from Sari Bari to buy land in a nearby

village.Sheiscurrentlysavingforthecostofbuildingmaterialstofulfillherdreamand

build a house for her family on that land. On some days, she even adds that Sari Bari

should open a production unit on her land so that more women can have freedom!

In addition to the loan, Priya has parternered with Sari Bari in paying for the education

of her son, an extremely creative and artistic child. The Sari Bari School Support

program helps Priya to cover her son’s school educational expenses, including costs for

uniforms, books, supplies, and a tutor to help him study for year-end exams. Because

of Priya’s own vision and dreams for the future, along with support, encouragement,

and services offered by Sari Bari, the future is indeed bright for Priya and her family.

162012 Annual Report

Sari Bari Tomorrow

Sari Bari is continuing to grow and develop in its capacity

asasociallybeneficialbusiness.Everysteptowards

growth and development means more freedom, hope,

and justice for the red light areas of Kolkata; therefore,

Sari Bari continues to dream for and with the women

and families impacted by the commercial sex trade.

In the coming year, Sari Bari will

• increaseSariBariproductioncapacityandsalesthroughimplementation of new support sysmtems

• trainandemployatleast45newwomen–facilitatingfreedomfor25womenfromthesextradeandpreventionfor20girlsfromtrafficking

• developthecapacityandimpactofLeadershipSchoolbyincludingmore local leaders and speakers as wells as by providing access to a broaderrangeofresourcesspecifictotheneedsofthewomen

• supporttheempowermentofSariBarileadersthroughconferences and other external resources as available

• runacapitalcampaigntofundthepurchaseofthemainSariBariproperty(expectedtoraiseUS$300,000.00)

• engagemoreinternationalstaffandlocalIndiasupportstaffto facilitate on-going work and expansion in Kolkata

• hostthe3rdAnnualQuiltAuction

Within the next three years, Sari Bari will

• opentwomoreprevention-focusedunits,expandingmoredeeply into the vulnerable villages of West Bengal

• establishweavingandvegetabledyeprintingsectionsofproduction

Within the next three years, the Sari Bari Trust will

• employamedicalprofessional,counsellor,andsocialworker to support the mission of Sari Bari

• establishaschoolsupportprogramforchildrenintheredlightarea

• establishamedicalsupportprogramforchildrenintheredlightarea

172012 Annual Report

Partner for Freedom

The call to freedom, hope, and justice is a call for

everyone.Joinusinourfighttoeradicateinjustice,

andfindyourplaceintheSariBarifreedomstory.

Impact of Your Partnership

By partnering with Sari Bari, you will

• combat sexual slavery by participating in the restoration of women whohavebeentraffickedorenslavedinthesextradeaswellasinthepreventionofnewgirlsfrombeingtraffickedintothesextrade

• combat poverty by participating in the economic and educational empowerment of women and girls who experience economic vulnerability as well as social and educational disparity

• create opportunities for dignity, hope, freedom by using your purchasing power to buy products that support freedom and fair trade

• embody justice by participating in, facilitating, and promoting economic and social justice for women and children who are vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation

Take Action

Use your voice. Share what you learn with friends, family, colleagues, and

online social networks. Be an advocate for freedom, hope, and justice.

Stay connected. Follow and be engaged with Sari Bari

on Twitter, Facebook, and the Sari Bari blog.

Purchase for hope and freedom. Use your purchasing power for

freedom by buying beautiful Sari Bari products at Sari Bari Store,

Global SeeSaw, Better Way Imports, Rethreaded.

Support Sari Bari. Donate funds for the Sari Bari building, leadership development,

training sponsorships, etc. or donate time through advocacy, internships, etc.

192012 Annual Report

Contributing Writers: Sera Han, Sarah Lance and Melissa Hayward Photos: Nikole LimDesign: Oxide Design Co.Edited by: Sera Han

Notes1 Rani, Sudha. (2008, April 7). Prostitution: A burning issue in India today. MeriNews.

http://www.merinews.com/article/prostitution-a-burning-issue-in-india-today/131963.shtml

2 Dixit, Neha. (2008, Nov 1). The nowhere children. Tehelka Magazine (5)43. http://www.tehelka.com/story_main40.asp?filename=Ne011108cover_story.asp

3 Ravi, Thilaka. (2012). Prostitution: Fresh stakes in the oldest trade. MedIndia. http://www.medindia.net/patients/lifestyleandwellness/prostitution_in_india.htm

4 Sanderson,Vanessa(2008).Prostitution,traffickingandimpunityinIndia:Ahumanrightsperspective.Ethics in Action. http://www.ethicsinaction.asia/archive/2008-ethics-in-action/vol.-2-no.-5-october-2008/prostitution-trafficking-and-impunity-in-india-a

5 Department of Women and Child Development & Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal (2006). Sanlaap. http://wbsc.gov.in/ngo/4e.htm

6 Bag, Sahmik (2012, Feb 24). The new rhythms of Sonagachi. Livemint and The Wall Street Journal. http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/zc6wRB1Jmjj9cJKrSCLlWP/The-new-rhythms-of-Sonagachi.html

7 Sanlaap (2012). The Truth As It Is. http://www.sanlaapindia.org/

Contact Sari Bari

Questions? Comments?

We’d love to hear from you!

Email: info@saribari.com

Phone: (901) 457-4634

Stay in touch

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