Mariana Spater

Fine Cell Work

Fine Cell Work is a charity and social enterprise committed to the rehabilitation of people in prison by providing them with purposeful activity. We do this by teaching them soft work skills, and by training and paying them to do exquisite needlework to create beautiful products for sale. Our aim is to support people in prison to finish their sentences with work skills, money earned and saved, and the self-belief to stop offending and go on to live meaningful, independent crime-free lives. We enable people in prison and prison leavers to work within a successful social enterprise by training them to make high-quality, commercial needlework and textile products which are sold to interior designers, private customers, museums and heritage organisations. The charity's model is sustainable; a quarter of its income comes from sales of people in prisons' work. By providing purposeful activity to prepare people in prison to successfully reintegrate into the community post-release, we are working to improve the well-being of those in prison, key to reducing recidivism. Our emphasis on earning and saving for release is unusual in blending practical, material empowerment for people in prison with a process of psychological support and rebuilding. Stitchers earn approximately a third of their income from sales and are encouraged to save for release. This allows our stitchers to save a real nest egg to provide financial security post-release. With a small staff team, the charity has a wide reach because of the support of a national network of up to 200 volunteers providing frontline training and mentoring as well as the support of sales, design, production and fundraising. Working with over 8,000 people in prison in 55 prisons over this time has given us extensive experience in prisons in the UK. We have created a strong, resilient infrastructure whilst retaining the flexibility to adapt our programmes to meet the ongoing challenges of working within the prison estate.