Project Restart Brings Ceramics Training to Prison Inmates for Rehabilitation

A restorative initiative titled Project Restart has introduced ceramics and vocational training to prison inmates across Haryana and Maharashtra to provide creative rehabilitation behind bars. The project was also showcased at the Indian Prison Festival held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi in March.

Founded by National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad graduate Shreya Kedia, the ceramics-focused programme works with inmates, ex-inmates, and juveniles. Over a span of nine months in 2025, the initiative engaged more than 100 participants and established a functional ceramics workshop and kiln inside Nuh jail in Haryana.

The workshop was developed in partnership with a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation and the NID Ford Foundation. The infrastructure was set up after Kedia and her collaborators raised approximately ₹2.6 lakh through crowdfunding last year.

More than 25 workshops have been conducted at Nuh jail, where participants learned to craft ceramic products. Ahead of Diwali last year, inmates created festive items that were distributed among jail staff and sold at a petrol station located inside the prison premises. The organisers are currently planning an exhibition to display the inmates' work.

The team is working to register Project Restart as a non-profit organisation and scale the initiative to additional facilities, including prisons in Delhi and Byculla jail in Mumbai. Kedia stated that the programme uses ceramics as a tool for creative rehabilitation, skill development, and restoring dignity among prisoners.