“I was talking to my probation officer one day and I weren’t in the best of moods. He was asking me about what’s the matter and stuff like that, so I explained to him I’m just bored all the time and I just had too much time on my hands because I just didn’t do … More KJ says: “It always makes me really happy when everyone likes the food…”
This is a section from a transcript of a focus group carried out during the Inside Knowledge module run by the University of Plymouth at LandWorks in March 2024… Julie – What do you think are the key benefits of the enterprises at LandWorks? John – Oh, the list is so long … building self-worth, … More John says: “…as much as they might be learning from you, you’re learning from people all the time, you’re receiving it back…”
“I like being active and doing stuff, like woodwork and stuff, which being at LandWorks has helped me do. I just like being active and doing things. When I’m doing things, I don’t get myself into trouble with the police and stuff. So, I think it’s quite good for me to keep myself busy and … More Josh says: “I’ve learnt, if I make a mistake, it’s easily rectified and if it’s not easily rectified, just start again…”
“…coming out of prison it’s just hard to get work because most places won’t take you on with a criminal record so, I’ve been struggling really hard with that and just, my motivation was just going down and I was feeling a bit depressed. I wasn’t really doing much, so this has given me like … More David says: “once you’ve done it you can then stand back and go look at that, you’ve achieved that for the day, you’ve actually achieved something…”
“I vaguely remember the first day. I was very nervous, yeah. Do you know when it was? No, I don’t, because there was a few weeks I didn’t come. Some reasons were valid, but sometimes I just like, you know … but I’m loving it now and my mindset’s so much better. I really look … More Justina says: “they seem to be thriving now, and I’m seeing it in myself…”
“…it was at a bad time in my life where I’d come out of a divorce and lost me kids, lost everything through drink and a bit of drugs and bad company, a boyfriend that beats me up. But yeah, coming out to LandWorks has really helped because it gave me confidence to go out … More Molly says: “Here, we’re just one school”
“I’m more confident, a lot more confident, yeah, yeah. I’m more confident standing up in front of everyone … my own opinions. I’ve never really liked speaking about my own opinions and things. I didn’t like the reaction of people, but now I kind of think … I’m free to say my own opinions aren’t … More Dave says: “A lot of it is to do with trust…”
“I come to LandWorks obviously through my probation officer. So, I came out of jail and he asked me if I wanted to go and at the start I was like I don’t really … do you know what I mean? I don’t really like travelling, going places, but he took me out here for … More Benjy says: “It’s like a family thing. It’s good. It’s decent like…”
“Obviously, I had a bit of a setback, which wasn’t LandWorks fault. It was my fault. I kind of felt bad because I was doing so well and then everything just went … all that hard work for nothing really, I thought and then I got a second chance. Chris wanted to see that I … More Tony says: “It’s nice to be back out here and given a second chance. I suppose everybody deserves a second chance
I’ve been at LandWorks for about six or seven weeks maybe. Maybe a little bit longer. I’ve lost track because… It’s nice. I got in trouble before, but … I didn’t have to come here. I didn’t have any conditions left. My probation officer said ‘what do you do?’ I said I just potter around … More Johnny Says: “This is awesome. I don’t know why I didn’t get sent here before, because I reckon none of this would’ve happened if I came here earlier…”
A window into LandWorks 