From the outside, Rayong Central Prison looks just like another detention centre -- ringed by towering walls that are topped with electrified barbed wire.
The 13,600-square-metre prison houses a total of 7,668 prisoners, comprised of 6,684 males and 984 females. About 90% of those held in this prison, located along Rayong's coastline, were jailed for drug offences.
Rayong Central Prison is a part of the Department of Corrections' pilot programme which seeks to "rehabilitate" inmates and reduce the number of repeat offenders, or recidivists.
According to the Department of Corrections' figures, the number of recidivists has continued to rise over the past three years.
In 2015, recidivists accounted for 17% of prison inmates. The figure jumped to 25% in 2016, and to 33% last year. These figures mean about 200,000 repeat offenders were imprisoned again, mostly for drug-related crimes.
In the lobby of Rayong Central Prison, a banner that reads "Our mission is to return good people to their families and the society" is displayed. Authorities aim to fulfil this mission by offering practical job training for the inmates.
In addition to training, prison staff are encouraged to boost the inmates' confidence and install in them a sense of purpose. "We follow the Department of Corrections' guideline, and every inmate here is treated with respect and dignity," said one of the prison guards.
Upon walking into the prison compound, many visitors were surprised because Rayong Central Prison does not look like the stereotypical, dungeon-like correctional centre often portrayed on TV. It is spacious and well-lit. The inmates look more like factory workers than hardened criminals, and everyone was busy going about their daily tasks.
All inmates are given the option to take up job training courses, which equips them with the practical skills needed to ensure that the inmates can positively contribute to society upon their release.
Here, inmates can take up massage courses, cooking classes, tailoring lessons and even local craftsmanship workshops. But the program entails much more than mere teaching -- the Department of Corrections is also in business with the inmates, hiring highly-skilled inmates to work within the prison and so giving them a chance to earn some money.
One of these businesses is the prison's beauty salon, staffed by a team of eight inmates-turned-hairdressers. Guards said that beauty services are in high demand in the prison, as just like everyone else inmates also want to look good and feel good despite their incarceration.
The salon's services are cheaper than those offered outside of the prison. For example, an inmate can get his or her hair washed for 80 baht, while wash and cut services are billed at 120 baht. As a result, the salon is always crowded on Sundays, as most of the prisoners get some time off from their daily chores.
Pam, a drug convict who is currently serving a six-year jail term, is one of the salon's eight hairdressers. She took up beauty classes in the prison and eventually realised that she has a knack for hairstyling and decided to work at the salon.
Now, Pam earns between 4,000-5,000 baht per month -- which will allow her to ride out the rest of her jail term comfortably without having to ask for help. However, she said the scheme taught her to be confident, which she values more than money.
"Working at the prison salon gives me a sense of purpose and focus," she said. "It gives me hope that I can someday work at a beauty salon once I walk out of here."
Pam's experience is shared by many female convicts in Rayong Central Prison. She never graduated from college, which limited her employment prospects. In her free time, she hung out with friends who urged her to try recreational drugs.
Eventually, Pam found herself peddling drugs to earn enough money to sustain her drug habit.
"I know I messed up," she said. "But I will not repeat the same mistake."
Rayong Central Prison's bakery is also popular among its inmates. The shop receives an overwhelming number of orders, sometimes exceeding 60,000 orders in a day, from the prison's sweet-toothed inmates. The bakery is also staffed by inmates who earn a small monthly income and receive free grocery supplies.
Prison warden Patcharaporn Boonchan said that like in other prisons across the country, most female inmates are serving time for drug offences.
"Most of these women started dealing to fund their addiction," she said.
Ms Patcharaporn believes the root cause of the problem lies in the lack of education and the absence of good judgment, and the training provided at the prison can help stop inmates from relapsing.
"These activities do not only give them a sense of purpose, but also vocational skills which can be used in the future," she said.
The prison's rehabilitation programme has attracted a lot of attention, and Thai and foreign participants invited by Thailand's Institute of Justice who visited the prison have said that they were impressed by the prison's management system and its sensitivity towards gender-based issues.
Elizabeth Sivi, a participant from Kenya, praised Rayong Central Prison for creating a safe environment and boosting the self-esteem of its inmates.
"Remuneration from the work they do can help boost their self-esteem and give them hope for better lives outside of the prison," said Ms Sivi, who is a correctional officer in Kenya.
A participant from Singapore, who asked not to be named, said that even though the management system in the prison is impressive, Thailand could improve by following Singapore's example.
Singaporean volunteers launched the Yellow Ribbon Project, which seeks to help ex-convicts to re-engage with their communities. It also helps former inmates to find employment, while at the same time working with local communities to abolish stigma against ex-convicts.
"Most recidivists relapse because the society won't give them a second chance," she said.
She said that for as long as ex-convicts are stigmatised, prisons will always be crowded.
Indeed, many inmates at Rayong Central Prison are recidivists. One of them is Nat, a 29-year-old drug convict who is serving a three-year jail term.
Nat said that after she was released for the first time, she managed to get a job as a saleswoman. However, two weeks into the job, her employers found out that she was once a prisoner, and fired her.
"I tried to resist the temptation for eight months. But I gave up and sold drugs again," she said.
Nat now works at the prison bakery and is determined to use the skills she learnt to turn her life around.
"I think I have the skills to turn my life around this time," she said with a smile.