26 running a real Prison Economy Festival and a website7 for two years. Oscar perfectly knows all the present, past and even future cooperatives and companies that, from prison, bring excellent products to the food market. Cookies, pistachio and almond creams, pastries, coffee, beers, pasta. He shows me, in a corner of the hall, the shelves with all the products he sells and reworks through the pub offer, and I notice that inside the corner two shelves are occupied by a small library enriched, over time, with volumes written in prison, at the center of which stands his thesis, discussed at the LUISS University in Rome, entitled The re-education of the prisoner through working in jail, alongside one of the two books about detention written by Totò Cuffaro. Beyond the serious topic, Oscar is a jovial boy talking about his work. «I am a neophyte. I started as a volunteer at the labs outside Rebibbia, inside an agricultural school, of the Vale la Pena brewery». So, there were guys and prisoners together? «Yes, so much so that in this confrontation there was an educational activity, and the project had even been rewarded in Brussels». What about the raw matter, the hop? «Malt, hop and yeasts were bought on the free market by Mister Malt. We bought, mixed everything, boiled, fermented... for a series of steps lasting almost a month and a half». But who brought the know-how in? «We were lucky that all the great Italian brewers came to pay a visit, being passionate about this project, and they wrote us some recipes. Thus, the first recipes we had were theirs. After that, we had a brewery technician, then a student that had a small penal injury, and finally a 20-year-old trained guy arrived, with whom we created a company to make the Vale la Pena bira8». «Oscar, you just can’t afford "birra" with two R, right?» I ask him, laughing. «No, at best I have to change its name and say cerveza» he replies, fully releasing his Roman accent. Back to the Vale la Pena beer, produced in prison, Oscar specifies: «In May 2019 the brewery was closed. That is: the school where it was hosted, once expired the agreement of loan for use, decided not to renew it». So where is Vale la Pena brewed today? «We were hosted by Pomezia, we are hosted by Giugliano in Naples, but the truth is that at the moment we are in a limbo where we do not employ prisoners, even if we would like to do it again tomorrow too. We are working in order to bring the brewery to two prisons, but obviously these are things not working out in a few days, because it takes requests for authorizations lasting for months, if not for years». And in the meantime, there is the pub... «That’s it, yes. The pub responds to another concept. It was opened in October 2018 by a company, and one of its partners was Paolo Strano, chairman of the non-profit organization which set the tone to the Vale la Pena project. Paolo's idea was to increase the number of workers, in addition to the two units employed in the brewery, by opening the pub». But then, the pub closed. «Yes, Paolo's members lock it up in June 2019 until my arrival, already a volunteer at the brewery, and after my degree dissertation on the importance of job for prisoners; so I decided to work alongside Paolo, first as Vale la Pena commercial director, and then with the idea of putting together all the cooperatives that produce in prison by creating a festival: the National Festival of Prison Economy». And how was such an event received? «A success. With newspapers, televisions and the audience. So, Paolo and I decided to create a prison economy products distribution company, and to open a place where we all could bring them together, also because if I can sell even just one extra pack of pasta, I know that I am helping all these cooperatives out». And the menu is entirely based on these products... «Yes. The difference is that while before the activity was mainly commercial, along with the Vale la Pena beer, now it remains commercial, but it is mainly based on prison economy products, and not only on our beer. My work is simple: I buy your product, tell me the list price, so I can top it up and sell it, period». And in the end, you bring them all together. «Yes, also because if we create a small corner at the pub, or at the fair-trade shop, even at the supermarket, we no longer compete with the free market, where you would get lost in the tricks of marketing or in the colors of the packaging of large groups, but we manage to offer a high product both for ethical and for excellence reasons, that otherwise would sell little and nothing, among the products on sale within a shop or a supermarket». Therefore, in doing so, you work on several parallel channels? «Yep. Pubs, events, distribution in stores, online commerce linked to a shop about to open at the San Lorenzo district. And I am often alone. So, if you wish to help me...» I burst out laughing and then I notice that actually he is not alone, there are also those who work out there. «Yes, here we have chosen to employ two inmates and then to keep them, because they are good. We didn't want to create the zoo effect, where people could think of coming to see inmates who work, as if it was a show». And how many people have you employed, so far? «With Vale la Pena beer, but also with the festival, we managed to employ about 18 people. It is difficult for them, since they come from prison and the employer has to pay their wages directly to the jail, so everyone knows who they are, where they come from, and there is a prejudice. We have employed so many also thanks to the events, because we give them the first opportunity and, in the end, standing out within specialized circuits, they are contacted and immediately hired, because they are good. In fact, one has become a brewer, just saying. In short, they no longer show up all by themselves into the labour market. In addition, at the events we also invite inmate writers, stage animals, endowed with charisma. Becoming known this way represents a completely different story». And how often do you pay a visit in jail? «Well, now there is a project, but I’m a bit anguished the whole time». Ok, but maybe you forgot that in your pub stand bars, grids... «Yes, it's true, but going to prison always gives you anguish. You walk through a door and someone closes it behind you. The same with those who get out. A guy employed here told me that as soon as he got out, he asked to go to the mall. "What was I thinking!" he said. "Noises, screams, voices". Think about what that could mean for someone locked up in a cell for years. Or even Facebook. The same guy came out last year, and he always tells me that his girlfriend scolds him: "Why don't you like my photos on Facebook?". And he has no idea what the hell the problem is. I told him: you see, if you don't like them, she thinks you don't do so as not to be smeared by some other girl. And he says to me: "But I call her, I tell her I do like you!"». One last question, Oscar: are you able to survive on the market? How much do you earn? «Well, soon said. I won a 7 www.economiacarceraria.it 8 trans. beer. In the Roman cadence, the double R is pronounced as if it was one: that’s the reason why birra turns into bira.
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