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Making Hope Tangible

Annual Report

A Note from the Director

The story of Sari Bari in 2013 has been stitched together like a patchwork quilt. We have taken all the pieces and parts that didnt make sense separately and deliberately joined them to create a bigger experience, a clearer understanding of the whole, and as we step back, we experience a moment of breathtaking awe at how it has all come together so beautifully. We celebrate that 32 new women have entered through our doors for training, and 25 have made it to graduation. We celebrate 244.6 cumulative years of freedom. We celebrate the growth in website sales and the continued growth of Sari Bari Private Limited in India, through which 114 families are supported. We celebrate big raises, annual bonuses, our Annual Retreat, and a special Christmas celebration. We celebrate that

Life
Sari Bari is a family of aunties, daughters, sisters, and friends who find life in sharing in tea time - 47,840 cups of tea to be exact and in stitching alongside a friend as she shares her burdens. We work hard and celebrate well around here. We hope you have a chance to visit and experience it for yourself.

Business
Sari Bari Private Limited is thankful for consistent growth of more than 30% per year over the last 3 years. We continue to grow and expand, building capacity and infrastructure so that we can provide more women with opportunities for employment and employment in 2014.

Future
We look with anticipation into 2014, which surely holds some unexpected gifts and some random pieces that will hold no meaning until they are pieced together to again form another tapestry of value and beauty. We will open our 4th Sari Bari Production Unit and hope to open our 2nd Trafficking Prevention Unit by the end of 2014.

the journery of each woman at Sari Bari is at once deeply personal and also shared by the Sari Bari community. This year we have also experienced profound loss, as two of the Sari Bari women passed away due to illnesses. Additionally we lost two staff members as they made the choice to move on to other dreams and pursuits. We have stumbled through cash flow and production problems, but with some serious intention and hard work we found our way through. We showed up everyday and did the hard work of stitching with our hands as we sought freedom in our hearts. We are thankful to share the patchwork of our 2013 story. We hope you can celebrate with us as you read our Annual Report. For Freedom, Sarah Lance Founder / Director

T able of Contents
Organizational Structure
Upendra Prasad Saha Director of Operations, SB Trust Board Member Sarah Lance Founder, Managing and Creative Director John Joel Das Administrator Sandeep Pal Production Logistics Coordinator Gita Haque Director, SB Trust Board Member Baroti Nandi SB Trust Board Member Melissa Hayward Aftercare Coordinator Radhika Devi Community Care Cooridnator/Chaplain

Kalighat Unit
Sheila Unit Production Manager Bharoti Assistant Manager Parul Machine Team Leader

Box Lane Unit

Aysha Production Manger Tinki Quality Control Manager Laxmi Assistant Manger Supriya Assistant Manager Bidya Shipping Coordinator

Canning Unit
Chaya Production Manager Ashma Trainer Soma Trainer

02 05 07 09 11 13

Directors Note

Life at Sari Bari

2013 Year at a Glance

2013 Goodbyes

Staff Departures

Voices for Hope

15 18 19 21 23 25

Reflection: Breathe It In

How Long Does it Take?

Website Sales

Financial Report

We Love Our Volunteers

The Unfinished Story

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2013
Life at Sari Bari
Square feet of stitching
(About one American football field)

1 1 55K 32 10 25 19 3
Mens Day Celebration Birth Women began training
Box Lane

47,840+
Cups of tea shared together

30%
(up to)

Staff raises

244.6 Freedom
Cummulative years of

75 1
New building purchased

Annual Physicals

Women graduated from training

Canning

Kalighat

Women employed for freedom 86 97

5

Losses

Difficult Goodbyes

Departures

2013 Annual Quilt Auction

Our 3rd Annual Quilt Aution brought an influx of traffic to the Sari Bari 28 Quilters engaged 11 Sari Bari quilts 25 Quilts auctioned: $5,745 raised 16 Quilts raffled 137 Raffle tickets sold : $2,740 raised $8,485 Total Raised

2013 Year at a Glance

This year we set about the task of making Hope tangible. We are thankful to have found hope within our grasp even as we walked through seasons of difficulty.

website and introduced our products to hundreds of new people in addition to raising over $8,000. 2013 Quilt Auction at a glance:

Christmas Campaign
Thanks so much for being a part of the 2013 Christmas Campaign. We raised $2,060 to support 100 Sari Bari Families for Christmas!

Box Lane Anniversary Sari Bari 7th Anniversary

Founded Feb 20, 2006 4 Years

Increased Production
Started working 1st & 3rd

Canning Anniversary Chobis Death

Feb 22 3 Years

Staff Raises
Staff received raises, some as high as 30%

Saturdays to increase production

3rd Annual Quilt Auction

2013 Catalog
Launched Sari Baris first product catalog

Beth Watermans Departure

Aug 4

Gitas Death Paruls Husbands Death

Mar 11

Brooke T aylors Departure

Jul 21

Nov 6

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

2013 Goodbyes
only be a minute Till reunion

For Chobi
February 22, 2013
It is a waiting day And so we wait And wait Seeing with the eyes of a broken heart The days past Of profound revelation And raunchy commentary on how to get a man Still waiting We go up Up to the place where she lies still Gone, still able to make us laugh As we remember Tears streaming we wait And then the exodus The filing out and away Bring the body to its resting place Jostled in the back of truck Smiling and knowing that it will

Blue skies, surrounded by the beauty That is community Life together 7 years and counting Seeing the fear around What if this was me, her, us And we cling to each other Still waiting finally, Shut out of the place that is for final resting Our horrific gender potentially corrupting the earth Our beautiful created femininity Cast to the street Turned aside, not even allowed to look on While men, only men Bury our friend, sister, mother Our presence on the street telling a story Of profound love Of resistance to go home youre not welcome here we will stay still till we know she rests your prayers may prayed inside and ours outside, resisting with the violence that is our love only three carry our community inside they will have to be enough such few men, to stand for an infinity of women warriors we never miss a chance to say goodbye to answer that call and go to stand with and HOLD we hold it dear those last moments of life when you were here kissed on the forehead, hand held, prayers like incense goodbye. Dear woman friend, sister, mother, daughter, lover, giver of laughter Goodbye. AND we wait for a minute

For Gita
November 6, 2013
Gita. She died. It was sudden. She was at work on Tuesday. She died on Wednesday afternoon. On Monday I sat near her in the office, and she was chatting and being her sassy selfcracking me (and herself) up. There are some women that, for various reasons, I think will be the next women to die. I have been steeling my heart for when they die. But Gita she wasnt anywhere near the top of that list. She wasnt even on the list. We walk around the corner from Sari Bari to her house and wait for her body to come. Some of the women are sassy and tell off the guys who congregate to stare (we are, afterall, in the red light area). And the rituals begin. Reality begins to settle in. For some reason, it is seeing her feet that gets me. Her feet, of all things, are so familiar. We walk down to the burning ghats, where bodies are cremated. There is a long line. It is going to be a long night. We wait. We drink tea. We wait some more. Against all logic, we just cant leave. It doesnt matter how late it is. It doesnt matter that we could leave and come back in a couple hours. We sit. We wait. We keep vigil. Its how we roll. This is one of the things I love about Sari Bari. We stay until it is finished. We say goodbyesending Gita off with a patchwork of blessings: May you go out in joy, and be led forth in peace. May the peace, that largely escaped you in this life, guard you in the next. See ya on the other side.
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Dear woman friend, sister, mother, daughter, lover, giver of laughter. Goodbye

pieces, and they have taught me what love

clothed me in gold these last few daysand yet it is only a dim reflection of how you have clothed my spirit and my journey As I say goodbye to the place I have made home for the last seven years. I see, as I have always, that the celebration and the mourning are bound together. a richness we were created to live in. May none of us turn back from either, nor cheat others out of knowing how their impressions have left our lives Kolkata, I raise my glass to youmy lungs may be black, but my heart has been refinedfull of lightand I will never be the same. May the God of all grace, the lifter of our heads, the hearer of our curse-filled prayers go before and behind us all, and above all, may love have yet the final say. Photo by: S. Lance

Staff Departures
Beth Waterman Brooke Taylor

can mean, what sisterhood can mean, what little power language barriers have when trust is involved I carry shards of my community within... memories, wounds, and the gift of being known. I understand grace because of them; I understand my effect on others and who I am more deeply because of those who have walked so closely with me.

Beth Waterman
Departure: August 4th after 6.5 years in Kolkata
The Final Say by Beth Waterman
For all the abuse, all the anger, all the [crises] Photo by: A. Schmidt of faith, questions, brokenness, death, and depressionI sit here tonight, four days before I depart this countrythankfulso incredibly thankful. I sit in awe at the love I have received and the love I have learned resides within. Kolkata has been to me a mirror, a black hole, a cup of suffering and celebration. I have held and toasted and drank I have learned how to cry here, how to bury ones I didnt know how to live without how to give news to those Id never want to hurtIve heard thousands of stories, a majority of which may never be repeated, and I hold each one as a treasure, as my pearl of great price. The women of Sari Bari are lodged in my chest, never to be removed. They have saved me, they have revived me, they have cut my heart in
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I fell in love here. And my heart will not possibly be the same. And to my sistersin brothels just a few alleys downI do not forget my times with you. Nor the reason I took up this fight. May my feet not rest till many more of you know the taste of freedom, value, and safetymay someday, when all is said and done, you know that someone cried for you, thought of you, spoke your name in love, and [dreamt] of you. May you know you are not alone in this world that seems so one sided and unfair. To my family at Sari Bari thank you for showing me that the God I followed here existssometimes in deafening silence, sometimes in painful restraint, but yes also in goodness, and hope, grace, and love You have allowed me into your stories, your fears, your homesyou have literally

Departure: July 21st after 2.5 years in Kolkata

Brooke T aylor

Brooke Taylor is our Choto Kookie as she was affectionately named (it means little girl) by one of the women at Sari Bari. She shared life with us at Sari Bari for over 2 years, and we are deeply thankful for her service among us. She married her best friend on January 11, 2014, and we celebrate with her as she begins a new kind of journey.

Sept 1 6

Voices For Hope

[Blog Series]

I get a little itchy when I hear people talking about hope too much, when its advertised broadly or programmed en masse. Im suspicious of initiatives for hope. To me, institutions take the magic and mystery out of it. Thats why I love Sari Bari. Its not an institution. Its gritty. Its touchable. Its about the people. The Sari Bari brand of hope is for anyone who wants or needs it. Whether you live in a red light district or not, you can find a good dose of hope there. Daphne Eck, daphneeck.com

2013: Making Hope Tangible

The 2013 Voices for Hope Blog Series featured some significant voices reflecting on how hope tangibly expresses itself in the communities they are a part of. Here are some excerpts:

Nov 4
To create change and bring hope, I realize cannot be done according to how it fits the giver. It takes the act of sticking around. It takes time to understand, to measure, to know. Sari Bari planted [itself] in Kolkata and stuck around. Tangible hope comes from making oneself available in spirit, mind, and body. Its a commitment that takes time to see people to the [depths] of their souls. It is taking them by the hand and showing them that hope is indeed attainable. Calvina Nguyen, calvinaphotography.com
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Jul 15
I have found that when we form communities of love based on healing and allowing women opportunities to grow into who they were created to be, Hope is restored. What better place to form these communities than within a business? Business offers us a chance to be in relationship with each other and influence not only the people we work with, but our communities and world as well. Kristen Keen, rethreaded.com

Oct 21
Freeset is far from the perfect community. Were a bunch of imperfect people, with more joining the community all the time. As we journey we make lots of mistakes along the way. There are lots of freedom stories to celebrate, but if were honest, theres just as many to weep about too. There are times [when] we do both at the same time. Kerry Hilton, freesetglobal.com

Read more at saribari.com

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injustice, sickness, and heartbreak than anyone ever should.

The defense that she has used for 20 years to keep the worst of the heartache at bay, it is melting away. And I see her.

She is strong and mostly silent. Shes the aloof sort of cool. That person that you want to like you (ya know what I mean?). Because you

Breathe it in
Reflection by Melissa Hayward he never got to be a child. She spent her teens tending to her mother as she died, running back and forth between her full time job and the hospital. Even now in her early 20s, she fends for herself in a way that is very a-cultural. She works full time. She pays her own rent.
From my somewhat removed position, I judge whats left of her family. They are manipulative (I declare). They only want what they can get out of her (I surmise). How can they be so consumed with their own desires that they use her like that (I judge)? In her short life she has experienced more expectation, anger, judgement, manipulation,

want to know her and be counted among the short list of people she trusts. For a thousand reasons you want to know her, and for no other reason than because it seems impossible. And then I find myself sitting next to her hos-

pital bed. On day one Im full of questions and conflicting emotions. By day 5 shes doing remarkably better. She is receiving great treatment and is slowly getting better. And slowly the armor comes off. The thick shield she wears around her heart. The defense that she has used for 20 years to keep the worst of the heartache at bay, it is melting away. And I see her. I see the talkitive teenager that she never got to be. I see the pride that she keeps buried. I see how successful and creative and entrepreneurial she is. I catch a glimpse of what lies inside of her. I catch a glimpse of the bright future that I fully believe is hers. For a sacred and beautiful hour, as I sit by her hospital bed I catch a glimpse. And I breathe it in deeply

If I could change one thing

I would like to build my own place (home) and take care of my parents

-Krishna
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How long does it take?

A look at the amount of time women invest in creating your beautiful hand-made Sari Bari products

Queen Blanket
80 hours hand stitching 10 days of work

Original Throw
32 hours hand stitching 4 days of work

Baby Blanket
20 hours hand stitching Jillik Hobo Bag 2.5 days of work 5 hours hand stitching 1.3 hours sewing machine 1 day of work

Jiya Carryall
6 hours hand stitching 1.3 hours sewing machine 1 day of work

Next year I hope to

Learn new bag designs and be able to continue to master new skills

Sari Bari is proud of the artisan work that we create. Every item bears the signature, hand-stitched beauty of one womans hand. We are thankful that these stitches ultimately bring freedom through

employment. We are hopeful and believe that Sari Bari creates works of both beauty and quality products which stand on their own but also hold enhanced allure as they tell the story of Sari Bari.
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-Parul
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Saribari.com USA Website 2011-13

$109,765 $85,555 $89,955

Top 5 Products by Revenue

$19,085

Percent of Sales by Category

9% 25% $5,796 $5,547 $3,747 $2,431 41% 25%

Website Sales 2011-2013

2011

2012

2013 Percent of Visitors New to Website

Original Sari Blanket Baby Blanket Scarf Carryall: Jiya Mini Hobo: Rina II

Baby Home Accessories Bags

Website Visitors
Number of Visitors to Website

3,700 2,725

Total Visitors Unique Visitors 51,047 54,125 28,217 2013 33,081

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Items Sold Total Orders

19

2011

2012

2013

2011

2012

2013

2011

23,077

1,059

1,026

48%

1,185

52%

Website Orders 2011-2013

58%

45,997

2,578

2012

Sari Bari Private Limited, Kolkata India

$100,000

Financial Report
Report in ` Indian Rupees - Financial year ending March 31, 2013
2010 Gross Sales % Growth Total Costs % of Sales EBITDA* % Margin Depreciation & Amortization % of Sales EBIT** Taxes (30%) Capex % of Sales Change in Net Working Capital Net Cash Flow
` 602,483 104.10% ` (23,951) -4.10% ` (20,063.00) 3.50% ` (44,014.00) 0.00 55.70% ` (346,292) ` 578,532

$75,000

$50,000

Gross Sales

2011
` 2,426,292 319% ` 2,719,353 112.10% ` (293,061) -12.10% ` (81,897.00) 3.40% ` (374,958.00) 0.00 8.50% ` 192,944 ` (306,351)

2012
` 3,311,348 36.50% ` 3,062,898 92.50% ` 248,450 7.50% ` (92,173) 2.80% ` 156,277 ` (46,883) 1.10% ` 136,672 ` 302,000

2013
` 4,546,980 37.30% ` 3,466,217 96% ` 180,763 4% ` (107,363) 2.40% ` 73,400 ` (22,020) 2.10% ` 92,927 ` 1,054,662

$25,000

$0 2010 2011 2012 $30,000 $22,500 $15,000 $7,500 $0 -$7,500 2010 120% 2011 2012 2013 2013

Net Cash Flow

Report in $ U.S. Dollars+- Financial year ending March 31, 2013

2010 Gross Sales % Growth Total Costs % of Sales EBITDA* % Margin Depreciation & Amortization % of Sales EBIT** Taxes (30%) Capex % of Sales Change in Net Working Capital Net Cash Flow
$12,049.66 104.10% $(479.02) -4.10% $(401.26) 3.50% $(880.28) $0.00 55.70% $(6,925.84) $11,570.64

2011
$48,525.84 319% $54,387.06 112.10% $(5,861.22) -12.10% $(1,637.94) 3.40% $(7,499.16) $0.00 8.50% $3,858.88 $(6,127.02)

2012
$66,226.96 36.50% $61,257.96 92.50% $4,969.00 7.50% $(1,843.46) 2.80% $3,125.54 $(937.66) 1.10% $2,733.44 $6,040.00

2013
$90,939.60 37.30% $69,324.34 96% $3,615.26 4% $(2,147.26) 2.40% $1,468.00 $(440.40) 2.10% $1,858.54 $21,093.24

110%

100%

Total Costs Percentage of Sales

90%

*Earnings Before Interest Depreciate Tax Amortization **Earnings Before Interest Tax +Median exchange: `50 INR = $1 USD

80% 2010 2011 2012 2013

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We Love our Short T erm Staff

Interns, Short T erm Staff & Volunteers
We love our interns, short term staff and volunteers. In the last 12 months, Sari Bari has been encouraged by engaging short term folks to provide support to the Freedom story of the women at Sari Bari. They have contributed to the following: 2013 Catalog Freedom Tags (coming in 2014) Social Media plan and implementation 2012 Annual Report New Excel accounting training and implementation Baseline survey of needs Faciliation of bi-annual check ups Professional photography Editing 2013 Christmas Campaign

Special Thanks
We would like to give a special thanks to those who have supported the work of Sari Bari in the last year: Ellie, Jodi, Sera, Nathan, Annie, Kari, Amalia, Andrew, and Becca. Services donated by: Daphne Eck and Calvina Nyguen

Interested?
If you are interested in being a part of the Sari Bari Story as an Intern (6 months), Short Term Staff (1 year), or volunteer (any length of time), we are looking for support in the following areas:

Graphic Design Product Design Administration & Accounting Leadership Development Social Media (Story Telling) Fundraising Literacy & Educational
Support Email internships@saribari.com for more information.

If I could change one thing

I would like to live in peace, no fighting with my daughter.

-Aroti
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The Unfinished Story

Shanali*
Shanali left the line 7 years

Shankarit*
Shankarit is gracious and giving of her heart as few are anywhere in the world. At 12 she was raped by a man whose house she had been sent to clean. He then sold her into the sex trade to cover his tracks, and that is where she remained for more than 25 years - until she came to Sari Bari. In those 25 years, she was able to save money and buy land. In fact, she baught land three times, and each time a family member with village support threw her off her own land because she was a bad woman. One time she was literally stoned out of the village. As we hear these stories we cannot help but mourn that it is still not finished. And we cannot help but celebrate that every year, everyday in fact, we see Gods grace and provision poured out for the women of Sari Bari.
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ago and never looked back. She was sold as a young teenager and later found independence by marrying a good man. They had a child together, but her husband took their son to his family home in the village, and their son was raised with little contact with Shanali. If her son was sick, the family in the village would send for money, and her husband, who was often out of work, would tell her, our son is sick, and there is no money for medicine. So Shanali would go out and sell her body, trading her body and soul for a few rupees, with which she would buy medicine for her son. Shanali has pleaded to be able to see her son and care for him, but for more than thirty years she has been denied a relationship with her son who now is married, has a very good job at a bank, and has a daughter of his own. Her husband told her he loved her but that she could not enter respectable society because *Not their real names After many years, Shanali was finally able to meet with her son and her granddaughter. This was a simple and small gift of grace. But it is only a drop in the desert of longing for Shanali. Though she is free from having to sell her body, she remains bound by the past, by someone elses choice to sell her at age13 into the trade. She is yet to be invited by her family to be free from her past. It is not finished. of where she is from - the red light area. For this reason, her son does not wish to have a relationship with her.

unfinished stories are where we live...

The unfinished story begs for an ending that is clean, but for now, and at least in the Sari Bari story, it remains every inch unfinished. Many, many women have found freedom through employment and have had the opportunity for self rescue by making another choice for work. And that is just the beginning of a new chapter in a story that has been fraught with danger, harm, and devastation. It will take quite a long time to resolve those first chapters, 41+41even with
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radical epiphanies, dramatic plot changes, and new directions. Truly a lot remains unresolved in the stories of the women at Sari Bari, in fact in probably almost all of our stories. Unfinished stories are where we live. And so we press into the story we are living and creating everyday with our choices. And we look to the story that we are being invited into and hope for the best, not easily forgetting that the worst is still possible.

Sari Bari Pvt Ltd

Email: info@saribari.com Phone: (901) 457-4634 Website: www.saribari.com Blog: www.saribari.com/blog Twitter: @sari_bari_india

Where to Buy
England
Global SeeSaw www.globalseesaw.co.uk

Facebook: facebook.com/sari.bari.india Pinterest: pinterest.com/saribariindia Instagram: instagram.com/saribariindia# Tumblr: sari-bari-india.tumblr.com

USA
Rethreaded www.rethreaded.com Better Way Imports www.betterwayimports.com Sari Bari Online Store www.saribari.com

2013 Annual Report Content: Sarah Lance, Melissa Hayward Editing: Sarah Lance, Sera Han Layout and Design: Rebecca Ulasich Photography (unless otherwise noted): Rebecca Ulasich