Kalinga jail offers inmates life skills

I was in Kalinga last August as part of Masda-Aw, where we collaborated with local weavers on natural dyeing techniques.

- YVETTE TAN

One of our activities involved conducting an art workshop at the Kalinga District Jail, where I was given a tour of their garden by Therapeutic Community Modality Program (TCMP) Implementor JO1 Rodel Bucatan speaking on behalf of the person in charge of the garden, who wasn't present at the time of the interview.

Bucatan and his fellow TCMP implementers are in charge of the welfare and development of the PDLs (People Deprived of Liberty) in the facility.

The jail garden is part of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) program called Halina't Magtanim ng Prutas at Gulay (HAPAG) sa Piitan.

"The BJMP encourages all jails to engage in urban gardening," Bucatan explained in Tagalog. "All jails have limited space but we're blessed because we have a little space for gardening. At the same time, this is also part of their rehabilitation because they learn to maximize a small part of the land to produce food."