Project Detail

Prison Rehabilitation Programme- 2005 SIDS Conference Waste Paper Recycling

The primary objective of the project is to establish training in environment aware craft design and production within Mauritian prisons ? as sustainable contribution to rehabilitation of prisoners through income-generation skills training that integrates creative development of self-value. The second objective is to recycle the waste paper generated during the UN SIDS Conference held in Mauritius 10-15 January 2005.

This project will thus:
·Develop a novel system of environment aware craft production for prisoner rehabilitation
·Improve the income levels, quality of environment and quality of life of people from ?vulnerable groups?.
·and Help the people of these communities to re-engage in positive social activities with learning through new creative experiences.

The specific objectives of the project are to:
1.Train 10 trainee trainers in environmentally-aware craft production through a year-long full time course ? to build the necessary skills for participants to establish viable environment-aware, high-value craft entrepreneurships ? with significant immediate and knock-on impacts in environment protection and income-generation potential within vulnerable groups.
2.Throughout the year the trainee-trainers will spend 2 days per week implementing craft training in prisons with up to 12 different groups of 10-15 prisoners (trainee-trainers working in pairs) in 6 different sections prisons.
3.The aim is for the trainee trainers to continue the in-prison training courses next year possibly with some prisoners as new trainee-trainers with regular workshops to help the trainers continue to develop their capacity through regular monitoring, evaluation and target-setting.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Craft Academy

Country:

Mauritius

Area Of Work:

Multifocal Area

Operational Phase:

Phase 2

Grant Amount:

US$ 50,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

Co-Financing in-Kind:

Project Number:

MAR/04/03

Start Date:

3/2005

End Date:

2/2006

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Capacity - Building Component

1. Train 10 trainees to commit for one full years? (February to June seed funding given by the British High Commission, July to December funding needed) training: Two days per week visiting prisons, teaching environmentally-aware craft/art skills. One day per week developing planning programmes and linking with prisoner?s needs and prison staff requirements, and two days per week directly involved in creative and environmental crafts/arts activities. The training will build the necessary skills for participants to establish viable environment-aware, high-value craft entrepreneurships (creative design and production) ? with significant immediate and knock-on impacts in environment protection and income-generation potential within vulnerable groups as soon as these prisoners have been released and sent back in society. With the help of Mauritian Wildlife experts, the project will also help to enhance the prison environment by introducing beautiful endemic plants into the prison yards and train offenders and guards to understand the value of the species and care of the plants. 2. Continue this project in 2005 with trainees being responsible for carrying out more training in the prisons and also meeting periodically to continue to develop their capacity through regular monitoring, evaluation and target-setting workshops with regards craft teaching, as well as being supported closely by a psychiatrist to enable them to carry the weight of their experiences in working with prisoners.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Craft training was the top priority (requested by 40% of prisoners). This project will thus fill a much-needed niche for a priority vulnerable group, many of whom have requested help in this specific area. The project aims to help these prisoners to set up small businesses and help as well in marketing their products

Gender Focus

The project will help a significant number of vulnerable women within the prisoner beneficiary group. It will use local and global environmental themes as sources of inspiration for creative work thus raising awareness and building capacity for environmentally-aware creative activities.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

The project will respond to a wide range of UNDP/GEF SGP programming foci: ·The project will raise awareness on the need for personal action to counter the full range of global and local environmental threats that are relevant to Mauritius, with key foci on clean and non-wasteful production, and recycling of waste. ·A consultative process has been used to develop the project with the participation of partner organizations. ·The project targets ?vulnerable? communities that will benefit from income-generation capacity building, and improvement of the local environment. ·It will also promote environment-aware production and waste management methods (using household and industrial waste as primary materials) that minimize global and local negative impacts.

Notable Community Participation

The urgent need for updating and improvement of conditions in Mauritius?s prisons is currently headlined in the Mauritian media and is one of the main objectives of the present Prime Minister. One of the key issues is the serious lack of activities that focus on social and work-skills development for prisoner rehabilitation. Most prisoners come from the poorest communities and they have suffered social and educational exclusion, this has made them more vulnerable to the abuse of drugs and alcohol that surrounds them, and susceptible to prostitution, they are a high risk group for HIV infection. Following a request for help, our work-skills social rehabilitation approach and environment-aware training is now being adapted as the basis for developing prisoner-rehabilitation training.

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