Proudly presents: Mario Bennet shows off several pairs of sunglasses featuring wooden frames produced at the Sukun workshop in Malang, East Java.

A former drug addict strives to remove stigma by providing a new workplace that produces a cool, creative product.

While many people are still reluctant to interact with former drug addicts, ex-convicts and people living with HIV/AIDS, Muhammad Theo Zaenuri, 42, spends his time empowering them.

A former drug addict, Theo said he was highly motivated to cooperate with other former drug abusers and restore their social lives. He believes this group deserves a better opportunity in society and that stigma and discrimination only serve as obstacles.

“Drug addicts are always seen as criminals, thus limiting their job opportunities and social interactions,” Theo said, adding that the crucial factor was their own strong will.

The husband of children’s book writer Watiek Ideo said most drug addicts were former inmates and after their release, they often found difficulty in gaining public acceptance, forcing them to work in the informal sector and even relapse into pick-pocketing or other criminal acts.

The stigma will continue unless they make changes. In 2000, Theo and his friends set up a foundation called Yayasan Sadar Hati dedicated to guiding this group of people in Malang, East Java.

“But as guidance alone wasn’t enough, we tried to develop community-based business activities,” he added.

Theo and several friends began their clothing business in 2012, followed by an organic agribusiness. However, the businesses did not grow well because some of the members of the community had not yet recovered. He later made some changes to the membership when he received a new business opportunity offered by his Australian business partner — producing wooden glasses.

This venture was finally fruitful, turning out products under the Sahawood brand.

“It’s derived from the first syllables of Sadar Hati,” Theo, a father of one daughter, said.

Theo and his community went through trial and error during the first six months of production. Although the lenses are still imported, they use teak and sonokeling, recycled wood from the furniture industry to make their products environmentally friendly.

Each of the products has a unique label connected with drugs, such as Mogadh M 16, the name of a drug that may only be consumed with a doctor’s prescription and supervision. There is also Blue Cocaine, a popular addictive drug.

“This is only meant as a reminder, so we won’t fall into it [drug addiction] again,” he said.

The wooden glasses range in price, starting from Rp 420,000 (US$32.34) to Rp 500,000 a pair. A part of the proceeds goes toward social activities such as creating HIV/AIDS awareness programs and providing scholarships for disadvantaged children.

Marketed online, the products have been sold in several cities in Indonesia, even in other countries like the US, Australia and the UK.

“One of our clients, the Bambusee brand, has the same mission of empowering former addicts and ex-convicts besides promoting eco-friendly products,” Theo said.

The frames of the glasses are crafted by 10 crafters at modest a workshop on Jl. Kemantren in Sukun, Malang city, and another workshop in Dampit district, Malang regency. Meanwhile, the fabric pouches are made by housewives in Sidoarjo.

“The lenses are attached in Surabaya because it requires special skill,” Theo said.

He stressed that the stigma attached to the marginalized group should be fought through their creation of products. Theo himself has worked hard for quite a long time to regain his family’s trust — which he has now fully recovered.

“The time has come to face the future through creative work. That is our motivation, which is written on the frames of our eyeglasses,” he said.

Mario Bennet, 32, a wooden frame crafter at the Sukun workshop, is one of the people who has embraced change in his life.

“It’s not easy to be an ex-convict. I went blank after my release, confused over what to do,” said Bennet, who had spent four-and-a-half years in Lowokwaru Penitentiary, Malang.

The native of Malang city eventually accepted Theo’s offer to make wooden spectacle frames using the handicraft skills he had learned while in confinement. This job allows him to meet his daily needs.

“Thank God, I can now also motivate and teach ex-drug addicts and jobless people around here although many of them have no basic capacity in wood craftsmanship,” he said.

At present, Sahawood’s production rate is only around 15 eyeglass frames per week. Theo hopes the community can get capital aid to improve their machinery so they can boost their production capacity in order to cope up with the increasing demand.

“We surely want this authentic Indonesian product to be more widely distributed around the world,” he said.

— Photo by Nedi Putra AW

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