Prison is generally known as the place where the inmate is not only confined but also trained with several skills. In Malang, there are two prisons which divided by gender. The female prison is located in Sukun and currently holds 600 inmates. Living in prison does not prevent the inmate from exploring their creativity. The female prison provides 13 skills for inmates to learn, such as knitting, and making souvenirs like wallets, bags, and hats. However, there are other skills which not found and provided in the prison, specifically skills in making batik. Though many inmates are interested in learning on how to make batik, they face several problems ranging from the lack of knowledge to the limited materials. This gives rise to concern because the correct training in making batik could potentially stimulate behavioural and character improvements. Therefore, this research is intended to: (1) teach inmates to create batik products and (2) see if this helps with character improvement. This qualitative research is applied to 30 female inmates called Class II A. The process of gathering data are observation, interview and documentation. This study demonstrates that the correct training in making batik consists of three stages - Planning, Executing, and Evaluating. The planning stage is verbal not written. The executing stage consists of making pattern, coloring, melorod (a process where the batik is submerged in boiling water), and finishing. The evaluating stage involves the overall evaluation of the process in making batik and evaluate the finished batik products. The research also discovers that the process of making batik also promote several desirable traits such as persistence, an appreciation of aesthetics, national pride in local culture and entrepreneurship.
Keywords: Making batik, process, inmate, female prison.