Peru: the success of a clothing brand made by prisoners

Audio 02:38

By: Wyloën Munhoz-Boillot

With 10,000 prisoners, Lurigancho prison in Lima is the largest in Peru. She is also often cited as one of the most violent and dangerous in the world. However, this is where Frenchman Thomas Jacob decided to embark on a slightly crazy project: to create a brand of clothing entirely made by prisoners.

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We enter a hangar in Lurigancho prison. Nicknamed the “industrial zone”, this building shelters a dozen workshops: from clothing to mechanics, passing by pastry. Thomas Jacob welcomes us in the middle of sewing machines, rolls of fabric and worktops.

This young 32 year old Frenchman is a pioneer, he is the first entrepreneur to set up his business in a Peruvian prison. An idea that dates back to 2013, when he was doing a marketing internship in Lima. “ I had a French friend who volunteered in prisons. One day she invited me to a play with the local inmates. And I knew a lot of prisoners ... I felt that the guys were sincere, honest that they really wanted to work and get out of it , "he says.

Clothes sold all over the world and in the trendy districts of Lima

With a little experience in textiles, Thomas decided to launch Pietà, a clothing brand entirely made by prisoners. Seven years later, it is a success. The brand has several stores in the trendy districts of Lima and sells to the four corners of the world. Today his workshop in Lurigancho is running at full speed and employs around fifty prisoners, all profiles combined. " The workshop is open to everyone, " he says. “ There is no segmentation according to their sentence, whether they are sex offenders, drug traffickers or murderers, here they are all mixed up. "

Thomas is delighted with his employees, whom he says are all very motivated. Eyes riveted on his sewing machine, Joël, 39, imprisoned for 5 years, pauses for a few moments. “ I have been working here for a year. I learned to sew. I like it : it keeps me busy, it distracts me all day and it prevents me from having dark ideas. Busy with the machine next door, Juan, another inmate, finished between two needles. “ It also helps us financially, because in the cells, we need money. And then it allows us to send some money to the family outside. "

Work for the survival of prisoners

In this prison, where corruption reigns, money is essential to survive: bed, meals, showers, everything is paid for here. Through their work, prisoners can support themselves. They are paid weekly according to production. But money is not their only motivation. For Edwin Velasquez, head of the penitentiary institute, “ the prisoners work for economic reasons, but also to get out faster, because in Peru, the prisoner who works gets a reduced sentence. And it also allows them to reintegrate more easily at the exit. It is rare that when they leave, they reoffend. "

The success of Pietà has been such that it has inspired other similar initiatives. Today, Lurigancho prison has twelve companies which employ 600 prisoners. As for Thomas Jacob, he plans to develop his project in other Peruvian prisons.

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• Peru
• Employment and Work