An Intensive Three-Week Exposure to the Work of in Kolkata and the Development of Freedom Business in the Villages of West Bengal

An intensive three-week exposure to the work of in Kolkata and the development of freedom business in the villages of West Bengal.

[email protected] | freesetincubator.com THE ENCOUNTER: WHAT DOES IT COST AND HOW CAN I JOIN?

Costs will be kept to a minimum. Participants will be asked to arrange for their own travel to and from Kolkata and to pay for any additional accommodation they might need immediately prior to or after the Encounter. Assistance will be offered to solve accommodation and visa requirements, if needed, as well as other practical issues relating to the visit.

INTRODUCTION TO A group experience is essential to the success of the The registration deadline for each course is 6 weeks prior Encounter. Participants and facilitators will spend much to the course start date indicated on the website: http:// FREEDOM ENCOUNTER of their time together - travelling, eating, exploring, and freesetglobal.com/incubator/encounter wrestling with difficult justice questions. Freedom Encounter courses run every January and The fee covers most of the travel, food, and simple dormitory September. See the Freeset website for dates: http:// By the end of the Encounter, participants will be much better style accommodation costs. Excluded are minor commuting freesetglobal.com/incubator/encounter placed to understand the significant and liberating potential costs, and food during free time. of freedom business in achieving global justice. Registration is open year-round but closes 6 weeks before Course fee: US$750 + 15% Government Service Tax the course begins. The Freedom Encounter is limited to 20 ABOUT FREESET participants, so apply early to avoid missing out. Requests for further information and details about joining the Freedom Encounter can be sent to: Course participants will: Freeset offers women the choice of freedom from the sex [email protected] • Encounter rural and urban poverty in West Bengal. trade, and today nearly 300 women are employed. Freeset • Develop an understanding of the connections between has established freedom businesses in Kolkata and the poverty and the trafficking of girls and women in to villages of West Bengal. Based in the Kolkata neighbourhood Kolkata’s extensive sex trade. of Sonagacchi, Freeset Bags and Apparel (FBA) produces • Gain insight in to the potential of freedom businesses to high-quality bags and fair trade certified organic tees for the transform communities. export market. FBA also has production units in the villages • Engage in a continuous process of reflection through of Murshidbad, employing women at risk of being trafficked. theological insight. Freeset Fabrics is also in a village in Murshidabad and produces hand-woven scarves and fabrics for the export Learning takes place through a combination of first-hand market. experiences of local cultures and local communities, as well as workshop sessions. Facilitators are skilled in business The starting point for many women is not prostitution, but practice, legal issues, cross-cultural engagement, and poverty. Poverty robs people of something that most people theology for the poor. take for granted - the ability to choose. Lack of economic choice provides the ideal environment for trafficking and the The Encounter will begin in and around Freeset, Kolkata. sex trade to flourish. Freeset works not just in intervention This will enable participants to experience in detail a with women who have been trafficked, but also in prevention, successful freedom business, and to begin to understand by working in village communities where girls and women are a little of the social, cultural and religious setting. After vulnerable to being trafficked. the first few days the group will relocate to the district of Murshidabad - a five hour journey by train. Here Freeset has a vision to see new freedom businesses participants will visit freedom businesses, and explore the established. To facilitate this growth, the Freeset Business rural surroundings. The last few days of the Encounter will Incubator was recently established. The Incubator is be back in Kolkata, where there will be the opportunity for supporting the development of freedom businesses through more learning, reflection and review. consultancy, training, development and resourcing.