Freeset: In Business for Freedom

Over ten years ago, a Kiwi family – Kerry Hilton; his wife, Annie; and their four children – moved from New Zealand to Kolkata, India to live among and serve the poor.  They settled into an apartment in a seemingly innocuous part of the city; as Kerry walked through the streets at night, however, he discovered they were living in Sonagachi, the largest red-light district in Kolkata, and one of the largest in Asia.

He saw the women “stand in line”.  Most of these women do not choose this.  They’re trafficked, from Bangladesh, rural India or Nepal, coerced or deceived.  Their extreme poverty forces them into a dilemma:  keep their dignity and starve the family or sell their bodies and feed their family.

The Hiltons turned to business as a means to set these women free, a way out of what seems an inescapable catch-22:  Freeset.

Freeset produces handmade jute bags and free-trade, organic cotton t-shirts; bags and t-shirts can be custom designed.  Freeset employs women who want to leave the sex trade, teaching them how to use a sewing machine; employees are not only paid twice the going rate for a similar position, but get health insurance and a pension plan.

The Freeset Trust was established to supplement the “on-the-job” training.  Through the trust, the women are taught how to read & write, manage personal finances and about basic health care.  A nursery on-site cares for the employees’ children during the work day.

This social enterprise began with twenty women.  Today about one hundred forty women work at Freeset.  They’re put in positions of varying levels of leadership and an increasing stake in the direction and decisions made.  As the business grows, freedom grows; simply put, the more bags and t-shirts sold means the more women come off the line, out of the brothels and into a community of support and empowerment.

The bags are legit.  I use mine to hold my ultimate-frisbee stuff – clothes, disc, cleats.  It’s got a nice pocket where I can stash my watch, and a pocket for my cell phone.  I’ve also used it to haul groceries– because it’s made of sturdy jute, it was great for the heavy items.  I’d collect them all if I could afford to – they come in various prints and designs (they’re also customizable) and they’re eco-friendly.

The money I spent on the bag was a far greater investment than I could imagine.  I get a sturdy, stylish, well-made, “green” bag; a woman in India gets liberated, illuminated and empowered.  It’s been said that you can’t put a price on freedom, but Freeset makes me think that $10-$15 can and does just that.

To learn more about Freeset – especially if you’d like to purchase/sell Freeset’s products – contact Anna Kim at ahongkim[at]yahoo[dot]com.