“At present, inmates who work for ‘prison industries’ across the globe do not learn new skills, just odd jobs. They aren’t taught skills that could make them resilient in the workplace once they leave. This is because education and work are disconnected.”
Prof. Lorraine Gamman, quoted in The Times of India, 7th March 2014.

Professor Lorraine Gamman’s research fellowship at Unbox Festival in 2014, Ahmedabad led to collaboration with Praveen Nahar of National Institute of Design (NID) on the AHRC-funded ‘Design Thinking for Prison Industries’ project which aims to break the cycle of repeat offending by equiping inmates with skills and thinking processes to help them find employment on release. The ambition of the project, led by Gamman with Co-Investigators Thorpe and Nahar, was to work with jails in UK and India to provide “purposeful learning activity” (a UK government requirement) that fosters creativity and wellbeing for inmates. The focus of this activity was the design and manufacture of anti-theft bags to be sold under the Makeright label in Sue Ryder charity shops.

The project attracted a British Council INDIA-UK Excellence Award for Collaborations in Higher Education under the ‘Innovative Partnerships’ category and Sublime Magazine Best Design Initiative 2016. DACRC was a runner up in the N.I.C.E. (Network for Innovations in Culture and Creativity in Europe) awards by the European Centre for Creative Economy (ECCE). Out of 110 submitted applications from 23 countries, the jury selected 10 outstanding projects for their uniqueness and innovative contribution towards an inclusive world. 

The Makeright project in a movie: Make It Right film by Lotje Sodderland

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