By Ovayo Novukela
To create life-changing opportunities for former and current inmates, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has brought various products and crafts made by inmates to the National Arts Festival (NAF) as part of the Eastern Cape Showcase.
As part of the initiative, inmates and former convicts are given a platform to sell their handmade crafts, which they create using materials sponsored by the department as part of the Self-Sufficiency and Sustenance Framework Project, which intends to enrich the lives of offenders during and after prison.
Hosted at the Village Green during the NAF, a number of inmates are stationed at the market, creating items to sell, while other crafts for sale are made by inmates from various correctional service facilities around the country.
Proceeds from the sales of the items are split up with a portion going to the person who created the item and the remainder going to the department in order to purchase more material to supplement the programme.
On Wednesday, departmental commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale was at the DCS arts stands at the Village Green to observe and talk more about the progress of the Self-Sufficiency and Sustenance Framework project.
“When we were discussing with the management, we wanted to bring exceptional products here, which we took from various parts of the Eastern Cape facilities and be able to showcase our art to the public while recreating revenue and profit,” he said.
Thobakgale said the Self-Sufficiency and Sustenance Framework Project was celebrating 30 years of partnership with the NAF and wanted to continue building on the project.
“The beauty of this project is it does not focus on the arts and culture but also focuses on the agricultural, woodwork and steelwork, which not only develops skills but also creates revenue to offenders and the department,” he said.
Mzwandile Matiwane, one of the offenders who is part of the project, sews clothing and traditional beads.
He said the programme has helped him to be a better person.
“I hate what I did, but through my craft and art, I wanted to be a better man and person but also teach my skills to my community,” he said.
Former inmate Luvuyo Gxothani has collaborated with the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC) in making bags.
During his time as an inmate, DCS did not have the materials he needed to make his bags and hats. That is where DSRAC assisted him.
“DSRAC contacted me, and they wanted to assist me in getting my products to NAF and be able to make a living for myself, so I was excited, and I grabbed the opportunity with both hands’’, said Gxotheni.
“Everything happened so quickly as both departments called me as they wanted my products to be displayed and sold at the National Arts Festival. I didn’t think twice as this was a way to brand myself and my products,” he said.
DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said arts and crafts were just one of many interventions that could be a steppingstone in redefining a different pathway for inmates.
“It helps to instill a sense of achievement and pride in offenders, boosting their self-confidence,” he said.
Nxumalo added that on-demand skills for the market were what they looked at when rolling out programmes in correctional centres, and they assisted in preparing for opportunities where they could be self-employed instead of job seekers.
