Not only do inmates learn new skills, most are also generating an income, which they can choose to spend while they are in prison, send out to their loved ones or, save for the day they see freedom. Many of the officers working in the prison have masters degrees in the educational field and do the teaching themselves and local school teachers and university lecturers often volunteer to help teach courses.
“You see, the government doesn't pay for all of this,” continued Nawarat. “Last week a businessman who owned a shop in kam tieng market approached us to sell him cuttings of the Canna flowers as he saw how fine they looked as he drove past every morning. We are now talking about supplying him with many more flowers and saplings. A Japanese foundation donated hundreds of sewing machines to us and I contacted a company in Lamphun Industrial Estate which is now ordering thousands of items of clothing every month. Our massage school, open every day between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., received over twenty five tourists this past Sunday! We have so many programmes at this point that the women are feeling pride in their achievements as well as in their ability to make money. It also helps us to provide good rehabilitation support for new comers.”
Six months before the end of every woman's sentence, their routine is changed. A six month intensive readjustment programme is implemented. The prisoners will be given more opportunities to work outside the prison, either in the shop across the street, in the gardens or hired out to companies or government offices. This is to allow them to become accustomed to the outside world and to allow them to feel trusted and that their fate is in their own hands. No one has ever abused this privilege said Nawarat.

       “We treat people here as if they were all a part of one big family. Considering there are seventy one officials, most working in administration anyway, and over two thousand inmates, we would be suicidal to treat them badly, a ratio of nearly fifty to one in the prison area means you don't want people to be mad at you,” continued Nawarat.
As we walked around the prison compound one thing which was most noticeable was how clean and tidy everything was.
There were beautiful potted flowers and flower beds everywhere (all planted fo sale, as every square inch of the prison is utilised in a most efficient manner). The large factories saw hundreds of chatty women sewing, weaving, baking, and doing their daily tasks, under very light supervision. The classrooms had books, televisions and computers among other interactive teaching mediums. The nursery, where thirteen babies live with their mothers until satisfactory homes are found for them, is a pleasant area and the hospice is clean and well equipped.
We are not talking a happy perky fantasy land here, but it is also a far cry from the Bangkok Hilton. Nawarat runs the Chiang Mai Women's Correctional Institution like the CEO of a large corporation. It is super streamlined and efficient. The conditions are, if not pleasant, then comfortable. And the ultimate goal of rehabilitating criminals so that they learn self worth, understand their own abilities and move forward in a positive direction with their lives is certainly working.
“We have had no repeat offenders,” beamed Nawarat. “Factories come here and hire those who are paroled and who have skills. One girl went to work for a Lamphun factory and is now earning B 12,000 per month after only a year's work. Another girl has her own curtain business and has two cars and a house. She now comes to help fit curtains for us here for free.
“My heart's desire is to have the prison moved to a location in Mae Tang where there will be more trees, more space and provide a less stressful environment for the women to learn and to work.”
However, not all is rosy. Nawarat would like to appeal to the public to donate books, especially Thai school books but also English learning books and magazines as the current library is sadly out of date. Old computers are also eagerly sought after and any kind of support, sponsorship or work orders would always be greatly appreciated. “It is like managing a company, we have cash flow problems, we have to do marketing, we have lots of HR issues,” laughs Nawarat. “However, it is going well, many women are leaving here with enough money to give them a basic jumpstart back into life. There are some prisons in Thailand which are struggling with this system as they end up bankrupting projects or getting into financial quagmire, but we are doing well. Our women are leaving with the hope of being of use to themselves, their families and society.”