This sewing unit is located in a town two hours southeast of Kolkata, in the northeastern State of West Bengal. It is not far from the border with Bangladesh. The main income-generating activities for both women and men are in farming and agriculture, or as brick-makers or daily labourers. All this work is incredibly physically demanding and very low paid.

Molly (third from the right) has a diploma in fashion designing. She is a qualified and experienced seamstress who is passionate about making products that will generate a life-changing income to young women who are extremely vulnerable to being trafficked. Over half the women trafficked in India are from the state of West Bengal. Whilst working for an NGO, Molly delivered sewing training to 12 young women and has recently taken bold steps to run the training and production unit independently, inviting the young women she trained to become members of Adira Apparels. As a sewing unit, they take on various orders both from Secret Projects and from other businesses. Most recently they have started producing reusable sanitary towels called the JoPad, which they sell to women in the local villages who cannot afford to buy commercially available menstrual hygiene products.

Read an interview with Molly HERE to learn more about her work with Secret Projects and what inspires her.