The sewing school began in April of 2016 and currently trains seven young women between the ages of 16 and 20 four afternoons a week. After two years, they earn a diploma giving them the skills to work independently.
Students arrive lacking formal education or training and are in need of learning a trade to maintain their independence. Several of the graduates now work for Balo in the meticulous tailoring program where only the highest level of applicants qualify.
Shabana (Shabi) is responsible for the Balo sewing training and tailoring program. She graduated from the Institute of Fashion and Design in Kolkata. As a bright young woman, Shabi was unable to attend the university because her parents lacked the funds to pay for it. She got married and had two children while sewing in the Balo tailoring center. With the encouragement and support of Balo, she used her earnings to live her dream, and she enrolled in the Institute of Fashion and Design. She completed her coursework with high marks, and is now certificated to teach.
The Balo tailoring program began in 2007 with two seamstresses who only knew the basics of the trade. Over time, it has developed into a center where five seamstresses are permanently employed under Shabi’s careful supervision. With honorable wages and fair trade practices, two clothing lines are produced each year under the Balo Social brand.
With global shipping networks and her suitcase packed to the limit, Betta brings the final products back to Italy where they are sold. All of the money goes to support the Balo community and projects.
Betta oversees the project with a careful eye. She purchases the material, and produces all of the designs. She is meticulous and holds Shabi’s work to the highest standard. She and Shabi review the expectations for each garment and record the specifics in notebooks. Shabi and the seamstresses work in Casa Balo during the day while Marzina and the girls are at school. In the afternoons, they meet with Betta to review their work. Betta checks the work with fidelity, and she does not hesitate to tell Shabi to fix, cut, change or modify the slightest detail or discrepancy. Everything must be perfect. She has a precise eye and high expectations.