Prisoners in the open jails at Cheemeni in Kasaragod and Nettukaltheri in Thiruvananthapuram will have another opportunity to join the mainstream social life on completion of their sentence.
The Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) has joined hands with the Prisons Department for a programme to equip them in nursery practices and compost technology. Prisoners with a green thumb have been selected for the three-day training programme which imparts agricultural skills for production and supply of quality seedlings of several forestry species such as teak and mahogany.
Prisoners completing the training course will be given a certificate issued by the KFRI. As many as 50 inmates of the open jail at Cheemeni completed the course last month. The training for prisoners at the Nettukaltheri open jail began here on Thursday.
“The course is designed to provide self-employment for the prisoners leaving the jail on completion of their term,” says A.V. Raghu, scientist, KFRI, who is the coordinator of the training programme. “By setting up nurseries and manure units, jails can also generate revenue,” he said.
The trainees are being taught techniques of propagation through seeds and stumps, the selection of greenhouses, setting up nursery beds and pest control. They are also imparted training in making organic fertilizers from weeds.
“The training focuses on forestry species because there is a lot of market potential,” says Dr. Raghu. “The annual demand for seedlings is as high as 50 lakh, with the highest requirement for the World Environment Day celebrations on June 5. By catering to this market, nurseries can make a profit of lakhs.” The demand for quality seedlings from teak plantations offers another steady income for nurseries.
