Prison garden, in Ragusa inmates tend it

Ragusa prison is on the verge of collapse. It houses 180 inmates , 72 of whom are foreigners, for a total capacity of 196. But the prison's strength is that more than half of its inmates engage in activities that will help them reintegrate into society once they are released.

GARDEN IN PRISON

While serving their sentences, they attend school , take literacy courses , learn tailoring skills (they even made masks for the pandemic), prepare meals , and do cleaning and maintenance work . And above all, they tend the garden inside and outside the prison. The garden's care, in the project overseen by director Chiara Morales, stems from the idea of ​​"valuing all the good in an inmate, not considering their life wasted and lost, empowering them and ensuring that once released from prison they don't return to crime, but have a normal life."

READ ALSO: Free agricultural food, inmates in Rebibbia prison produce quality cheeses

RAGUSA PRISON

Inmates admitted to the Prison Garden project, with specialized staff overseeing them, grow lettuce , fennel , zucchini , artichokes , cauliflower . And even avocados. The garden's produce is also sold outside, and the proceeds are used to plant other outdoor areas for cultivation, always cared for by the inmates. Through their close contact with the land, Ragusa inmates have also learned to produce honey and very special cheeses . Thus, transforming a prison into a place where there is always hope of rebuilding one's life.

The image is taken from the Facebook page of the association "Ci Ridiamo Sù"

INITIATIVES FOR THE REINTEGRATION OF PRISONERS:

• Keep the planet clean: cleaning the planet starting from prison. Recovering talent.
• Bisonti Rugby, the team born in prison that hopes to return
• In Genoa prison, a world champion taught inmates to play chess.