Human Trafficking Victims Can Make, Sell 3D-Printed Jewelry Thanks to Startup

See a problem, solve a problem.  That’s the kind of thought process I can get behind. It appears to be how Katherine Prescott, the cofounder of Free-D, thinks as well.

Her company is looking to train women that are victims of human trafficking, or potential targets for human trafficking, how to create jewelry using 3D Printing.

From Forbes.com

This Startup Is Tackling Human Trafficking By Training Women In 3D-Printed Jewelry Design

Right now there are 24.9 million people trapped in modern-day slavery, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).

It is a gendered crisis: 71% of people who have been trafficked are women and girls.

One reason so many young women find themselves at risk is because of a lack of education, says Katherine Prescott, the cofounder of Free-D, a business offering training in 3D-printed jewelry design.

“They don’t have a high level of skill or literacy skills, which means that job opportunities are really low, and it’s through the search of trying to find employment that many get taken advantage of,” she explains.

Today Free-D—a portmanteau of “freed” and “3D”—isn’t just empowering human trafficking survivors. It also aims to train all kinds of vulnerable women, who might be homeless or escaping domestic violence or “at risk”, so they too can find stable long-term jobs.

It’s also just been accepted onto F-Lane, the Vodafone Institute’s Berlin-based female-empowerment business accelerator—an experience Prescott describes as “dying and going to feminist heaven”.

“The startup space in London is not necessarily focused on impact, but at F-Lane—where people are all from all different backgrounds—they all care.”

Prescott has drawn up a business plan to take Free-D global and will be pitching next month at the Re:publica digital forum in Berlin and the Arch Summit in Luxembourg.

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Contributed by Paul Gordon of iState TV.

Paul Gordon is the editor of Istate.tv and co-host of numerous podcasts including VisPrivus, Lulzilla and Full Auto. He is also the publisher of a local digital newspaper, the Tioga Freedomist