An ongoing initiative by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), which aims to increase the self-sufficiency of its facilities, has helped save the government over R100 million per year.

From farming to stitching together orange prison overalls and baking bread, the programme offers inmates the opportunity to learn a host of new skills.

Known as the self-sufficiency and sustainability strategic framework, it seeks to empower prisoners and increase employment opportunities for them once they return to society.

The department currently has 16 orchards, 21 major farms, 17 dairies, and 15 piggery projects across the country that supply its prisons and are operated by inmates.

There are also 20 abattoirs, 10 poultry projects, 115 small gardens, and 12 bakeries across the country.

In 2025, the department opened a bakery at the Westville Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, which is operated by 50 inmates and provides bread to over 10 000 people in correctional facilities.

“Once [the inmates] are released, we will give them a certificate to say that they have worked in the bakery, complied, and have certain skills. This will enhance their chances of getting a job once back in society,” Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald said, following the opening of the facility.

“I believe that they must produce some of their food themselves, and the reason for that is to save taxpayers’ money.”

Groenewald’s predecessor as Minister of Corrections, Ronald Lamola, now Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, launched the programme in May 2021 in Oudtshoorn and George.

This helps the department comply with the Correctional Services Act, which states that it must be self-sufficient and operate according to business principles where possible.

According to the programme’s first annual report, the self-sufficiency initiative saved the department more than R100 million.

This has since increased to R125 million for the 2025/26 financial year, with bakeries realising R77 million in savings alone, Groenewald told Parliament during his department’s budget speech in early May.

The minister added that the department’s textile workshops manufactured close to 41 000 items for officials’ uniforms, while furniture workshops received R101 700 in orders from client departments.

However, he appealed to departments not yet supporting the initiative to fulfil their furniture needs through his department.

Groenewald also said that his department is engaging with the Department of Basic Education to produce and repair school desks.

Below are images of prisoners working various jobs at facilities across the country, provided by the Department of Correctional Services.