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Poring over their fine-quality crochet, the prisoners of Brazil's Arisvaldo de Campos Pires maximum security penitentiary are a model of concentration.
盯着手中这些制作精良的钩编织物，巴西坎波斯皮雷最高安全戒备监狱里的囚犯们，无疑成了集中注意力的典型代表。
And it's no wonder, when you consider what's at stake. Thanks to a collaboration with Brazilian fashion designer Raquel Guimaraes, the inmates have one day taken off their sentence for every three days of knitting they perform.
但要是你知道他们这样做的回报，就不会觉得奇怪了。多亏了与巴西时尚设计师拉克尔·吉马良斯的合作，这些囚犯每做三天的编织工作，就可获得一天的减刑。
The designer turned to the prison for help in 2009 when she had trouble finding knitters for her Doiselles label, which specialises in beautiful knitting and crochet work.
这位设计师的品牌Doiselles专营精美的针织钩织饰品，2009年她为寻找针织工人而大费周章，后来向监狱寻求合作。
She trained 18 prisoners sentenced for crimes ranging from robbery to murder, and their work is now exported globally, including to America, France, and Japan.
她对18名因抢劫或谋杀而获罪入狱的犯人进行针织培训。如今他们的作品销往全球，包括美国、法国和日本等地。
The hand-made pieces, which are strictly quality-checked, are also sold in 70 stores in Brazil. Named the Flor de Lotus ('Lotus Flower') Project, the initiative is a chance for prisoners to earn money while serving their time.
这些手工制作产品经过严格质量检查，在巴西70多个商店里也有出售。这项名为“莲花” 的合作项目，旨在帮助监狱犯人在服刑期间也有工作挣钱的机会。
Participating inmates are paid a starting salary of 75 per cent of Brazil's minimum wage. A quarter of what they earn is put aside, and paid on their release.
参与该合作项目的犯人的初始工资是巴西最低工资的75%。他们所得报酬的四分之一由狱方保管，直至出狱后一笔结清。
Former prison inmate Celio Tavares, who was jailed for armed robbery, said the project boosts prisoners' chances of finding a job when their sentences are up.
西利欧·塔瓦雷斯曾因持械抢劫而被判入狱，他说这一项目大大增加了囚犯在刑满释放后找到工作的几率。
'The program gives inmates skills and confidence they can use when they return to life on the outside. This raises the self-esteem of the prisoners, and opens the door to work and employment for everyone else,' he said.
他说：“囚犯通过这个项目学会技能，拥有自信，对他们回归外界生活十分有益。它提升了犯人的自尊心，为所有人的工作就业敞开大门。”
The prison is located in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Rio de Janeiro. Ms Guimaraes, who works nearby, says around 100 inmates have taken up the knitting challenge since she started training them four years ago.
监狱位于米纳斯吉拉斯的兹灰福拉市，在里约热内卢以北100英里（160公里）处。吉马良斯女士就在附近工作，她说自从四年前她开始这个项目至今，大约有100个囚犯参与了编织工作。
She sees the project as a way for prisoners to be viewed as something more than criminals, explaining: 'The remission of the sentence gives them the value of redeeming freedom, integrity and confidence. They are able to do any work and produce very well.'
她认为这个项目给囚犯提供一个“罪犯”以外的身份，还解释说：“减刑能使他们重获自由、变得正直而自信。他们可以胜任各种工作，而且结果也十分满意。”
