Inmate country store in Santa Fe to open Friday

SANTA FE, N.M. – The Old Gumby’s Country Store in Santa Fe has a lot to offer, not only to shoppers, but the products’ creators too.

“This could be the first opportunity for them to feel confident about something,” New Mexico Corrections Department’s Public Information Officer, Brittany Roembach. 

That’s because all the people who handmade these things are serving time in New Mexico prisons. 

“Welding, woodworking, we have a print shop, we have an embroidery shop,” said Ron Martinez, an administrative manger for Correction Industries.

The inmates have to apply for the program like a job. The proceeds from what they sell at the store goes back into the program and others like it. 

The inmates even make an hourly wage.

“Varies on the jobs based on what they’re doing, it’s a dollar up to two dollars,” Martinez said. 

But to be able to share their work with the community is priceless.

“They’re learning that skill, OK? They’re building products that are being sold and that builds a lot of self-worth for them,” said Martinez. 

Not only does it build self-worth, but it helps them start fresh once they are released. 

“One of the inmates who makes these he’s getting out soon and his family wants, he told me that his family is helping him to potentially start his own studio to sell rugs. So they can truly take it and turn it into a career,” said Roembach.

The store will open its doors Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is cash only, so make sure you hit the ATM before you head out. It’s going to be open once a month to give the inmates some time to replenish their stock. 

For more information on Old Gumby’s Country Store, click here.