The Loyal Workshop

The purchase of our satchels from 8th Day led to our discovery of The Loyal Workshop. We were excited about the quickly-booked opportunity to tour their facility and hear more about what they do.

Thursday's are a day off for Kalighat volunteers so after teaching our little people we headed to the hotel to clean up before the tour. Why did we not go straight to the tour? With 20 little people climbing on me, after eating limes for snack, and dancing in a tiny, hot room, it was necessary.

There was a traffic jam on the way home. Murphy's law, I suppose. It took more than double time to get home. At one point Teresa and I were sitting on the stifling bus, beyond the point of glistening, taking drenched to a whole new level, collecting enough salt from our skin to preserve a freshly slaughtered cow, looking at each other wondering wtf (why the face?) are we doing here...

When we got to the hotel Murphy continued his law as something very important, worth many rupees, was thrown down the toilet by house-keeping staff.

Finally we were ready. With the rain and ridiculous humidity (95+%) Uber was calling our names. We made it to the meeting spot only 3 minutes late. Joel, our host, was wetly standing under an umbrella.

On the drive over Teresa and I agreed that we would prefer a tour to ourselves, but if we had to be on a tour with people, they needed to at least be interesting. Remember this.

In the downpour we followed Joel, a New Zealander, through a maze of old, dank buildings and alleys too narrow for umbrellas. Monsoon season.

We arrived at a simple door and entered Narnia.

We sat in the office with three other folks, and Joel. Anu (sp?) is a young girl from Nepal and the others are a married couple from London, England. The wife (can't remember her name) grew up in Southeast Asia and her father is French Canadian. All three of them work at Freeset.

The tour of this facility was a tour of God's providence and guidance.

Paul and Sarah, the New Zealand founders, came to India on a mission. They came as willing servants, not seasoned experts. Their story reminds me of so many similar ones: many Old Testament characters, Max and Kina van Til and Ina York (three folks that make the Dominican program work).

Paul and Sarah wanted to help women leave the sex trade. From what I understand they didn't have a set product in mind. They had hope, thoughts, ideas and then things came together through brainstorming, teamwork, problem solving and trusting the expertise of others.

From their website:

"The Loyal Workshop was founded to provide an opportunity for freedom. Modern day slavery is a phenomenon that we are not prepared to be apathetic about. We believe that another world is possible; a world where sex slavery is relegated to the history books. It’s a brazen dream but we’re putting it into action in one city, in one red-light community, with one woman at a time.

We believe that business can be a tool to bring freedom to those trapped in slavery. Our business IS about freedom. Every product we create is part of a woman’s freedom journey. Thanks for your support."

They are Christians who followed a nudge and The Loyal Workshop was born.

We began our tour in the room with the laser etching machine. Robbie, a local, works that machine: he follows the computer program and etches the leather either with The Loyal Workshop logo, names of the artisans or for various fixtures on the pieces. This room is the only room with a/c so it is also where the leather is stored. The leather used for these goods is eco leather: it is treated with environmentally chemicals (apparently not formaldehyde as that isn't good). 

A question I wondered that Joel answered on the tour: leather products in India, what's up with that? Because of dominant Hinduism, cows are sacred in India. Two things: 1) Muslims and "the Chinese" have no problem with beef and are the butchers/leather people and 2) once the cow is dead, Hindus don't have a problem with using it (this idea and not eating beef doesn't entirely fit together for me but I'll move on).

Joel spent 6 months at a family homestay in Bangladesh to learn Bangla/Bengali and has spent the last year at Loyal. It was beautiful to watch him interact with the locals in their linguistic terms.

After the etching room we went upstairs and had the joy of sitting on the floor with the ladies as they worked. Their hand stitching of the leather was fascinating. Teresa and I mentioned that we had both purchased satchels already: this was our connection to Loyal which brought us on the tour. Teresa shared how she was pumped when she saw the name of the lady who made her satchel (with this company once the ladies have the leather pieces they complete the entire product). Unfortunately that lady was sick that day but the lady who made mine, Nisha, was there. I was able to meet her and compliment her on her fine work.

It was lovely to spend time with the ladies. They showed us how they completed various stitches. We told them they created beautiful work and were, in turn, thanked for buying them because, as they said, if we didn't buy them, they wouldn't have work.

As I sat with some ladies it was beautiful to see Anu, the Nepali girl, chatting furiously with some of the Nepali ladies. What a comfort to hear your mother tongue!

Joel showed us their passport: each lady has a simple, small book with her name on it. As she masters various skills she gets the corresponding stamp: making a belt, wallet, specific stitches etc... It may seem trite and meaningless but to ladies who for so long have essentially been a nameless, identity-less body, having a personalized book of skilled achievements is something to celebrate. One lady allowed us to see hers; I sensed subdued pride.

At one point I went on to the balcony to see the four ladies out there. Joel came with and shared exciting news: one of those four ladies made the world's best human goat noise. After Joel's slight coaxing, she obliged and I howled.

A part of Loyal that I found exciting was their daily routine. At 10 they all gather on the floor of the room; office staff, Joel, Paul and Sarah and the ladies (and all other staff...I'm sure there are more). They gather together for devotions and announcements. Attendance is mandatory. I asked Joel if it was odd that they are "forced" to participate in Christian things: no, it isn't. In India if you go to a Christian event, you'll do Christian things. That's just the way it is, just like if you go to a Hindu event, you'll do Hindu things.

Just before 5:00 it is clean-up time and each lady is assigned to clean up an area of the building. They are also each responsible to gather their specific tools and materials, out them in their individual cases and put everything away. At 5:00 they all gather again. We were able to be a part of this: Sarah excitedly shared announcements in Bengali. She also handed out personalized invitations to each employee for Loyal's 3rd birthday party. Each employee is allowed to bring 2 guests. What a small but powerful gesture: these ladies are individually invited to celebrate something they have impacted.

Joel explained the training process of these women. They "sign up" on their own. Paul and Sarah (and now others) have and continue to spend time in the neighbourhood being relational. They are not out to overtly minister, but to be among. Time. A youth pastor I once worked with, Albert Kooy, shared an analogy with me once which I think is from Tim Keller. I am likely butchering it as I don't recall it exactly but I think the gist was that in relationships there are various "stages" when entering a home: standing at the door to chat, moving to the living room or, the epitome, sitting at the kitchen table. This scenario does not fit exactly with the homes of the people Loyal folks visits, but the idea is the same. When you sit with, share food and drink and are among people at their level, powerful things can happen. I believe that it is through these relationships that the 20+ ladies have joined Loyal over the last three years.

When ladies say "yes" and commit to this work they begin the process of learning how to work with leather and create products, but it seems as though this is a mere drop in the bucket of their Loyal journey. 

The ladies learn skills and these aren't to be minimized. For many ladies "simple" fine motor skills can not be assumed. Recall for a second what their lives have entailed up until their Loyal move. They have used their bodies and lived simply. Likely (and I hesitate to make assumptions) any schooling they had occurred long ago. Nimble fingers completing delicate, precise work may be more challenging than first considered.

Sewing is just the beginning. They also learn basic numeracy and literacy. The Indians learn Bengali and the Nepalese learn English. Through this they learn, among other things, how to tell time and follow a schedule. They learn how to budget as they no longer get paid daily or on the fly. They are held responsible in community as they each have daily clean-up chores at the end of the day. They go through counselling to begin to unpack the trauma suffered. They learn how to trust, form bonds and learn how to trust hope. 

In addition to skills, I sense these ladies go through a whirlwind; a dramatic life transformation. I imagine their first life shift is living according to "regular" day hours. Then they need to be at work for a certain time. They have committed to something daily. People are counting on them. They're wanted, relied upon and part of a community. They matter. Their passport is one new way of identifying but they gain more ways of being identified: employee, colleague, friend and sister.

Despite this mammoth task, at this point Loyal has 100% retention. I believe this again goes back to Maslow's hierarchy of needs: physiological needs can be met with budgeting and a fair, steady income. At the next level, the ladies are safe at this workplace which is a drastic change. Also, safety in their neighbourhoods has the hope of changing as some ladies have been able to move away from where they previously worked. The third level in the hierarchy focusses on love and belonging; Loyal is working on this daily through both the training and follow-up help as well as in their daily structure. With these three levels more stable because of Loyal, ladies can excitingly move to Maslow's level 4 (esteem) and, hopefully, level 5: self-actualization. This is a beautiful story.

Picture from the Simply Paychology website.

To be a part of this story, check out their website and make a purchase if you feel so obliged. If you want to see the large, dark satchel in person, wait until I get home: it is stunning.

The Loyal Workshop

While sitting in the office at the end of the tour the six of us were chatting: Joel, Teresa, rachael and the 3 who we toured with. Teresa and I kept gushing about this place, how they operate and the fact that the ladies begin and end their days in Christian community! Their "bosses" sit on the floor and commune with them! The ladies essentially get paid for praying and listening to devotions etc... This led to the sharing of my personal struggle in India and its darkness steeped in empty rituals. I would find it hard to be a Christian long-term here. There doesn't seem to be many other Christians and it feels dark. This place, this tour of Loyal, brought renewed hope. It was a breath of fresh air, a beacon in my perceived darkness. Being at Loyal and seeing International development that, I think, works on multiple levels was thrilling. Watching Christians living out their faith in tangible, Christ-like ways that make them accessible and approachable, as opposed to abhorred and avoided, by their communities was inspirational. The folks at Loyal spend time loving people who are otherwise written off by society. That's one of the things Christians are supposed to do, no?

This 5:30 conversation led to the sharing by our tour-mates of what happens at Freeset where they all volunteer full-time. This got me very excited. Within minutes Dave, one of our tour-mates, made a phone call and had us on a tour of Freeset the next day, Friday, at 10am. These tour-mates were interesting, just as we had hoped.

Life is a puzzle and each piece continues to find it's accompanying piece-mates. The unknown picture will be a masterpiece.

Note: all other pictures are from the Loyal website