Bajatripper - 1-13-2012 at 05:47 PM
Many of us who live in La Paz drive by the CERESO (Centro de Rehabilitacion Social) regularly. It's that prison complex on the left as you drive east
on Colosio, heading towards Sorianas. Part of their program for social rehabilitation is to teach inmates a trade. There's a store at the prison where
the inmates' work is displayed and sold.
The items at the store include an assortment of knickknacks, earrings, necklaces, pendants and frames with maps of Baja California and perhaps a
clock done in abalone relief. My wife noticed earrings that sell for 45 pesos on the malecon selling for 15 pesos at the store. Many of the inmates
use the proceeds to help support their families on the outside.
But buying prison artesania isn't the only reason to visit the prison store. Inmates also make special order items such as picture frames
and furniture. The people who work at the counter at the store act as conduits for making contact with inmates. With measurements in hand, I
approached one of them and asked to be put in touch with an inmate who could make picture frames. I was given a name and told to go to the visitation
section of the prison, a few feet away, and ask for him. After a few minutes, Jose arrived at a barred window and I told him what I needed made. I
left him a deposit and paid the rest five days later, when my order was done.
Because it is a prison, there are some material--such as glass and some paint colors--that prisoners don't have access to, so you may have to go
elsewhere to complete a project. Even so, for many undertakings, the prison is a good place to keep in mind.
On my latest stop there, the manager apologized for the limited stock on hand, saying they'd done well during the recent holiday season. But he
assured me that the men were working hard and he expected to offer more selection soon. So the next time you think of buying some regional art, as a
gift or for yourself, you might consider stopping by the CERESO to see what they have.
The store at the CERESO on Colosio
Some of the stuff on sale, with more to come soon
Frames hanging in my house, made at the CERESO:
Salsa - 1-14-2012 at 08:32 PM
Give them a trade that is not the one that got them there !!!!!!!!!!
Don