Oven-baked CREATIONS

Singapore is a developed country. Have we forgotten our kampungs and its traditions?

Story by: Lisa-Anne Yeoh | Photos by: Kampung Kampus

Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) is a non-profit community that built Kampung Kampus, a community campus promoting sustainable living for a happier future.

Associate lecturer Lynn Tan, 44, is a regular volunteer at Kampung Kampus who started her journey after meeting like-minded volunteers with the passion to care for the environment.

DAILY ACTIVITIES

Flagship volunteer programme Balik Kampung, an initiative at Kampus Kampus, never sees boring days.

“I assist with activities such as housekeeping matters. Tasks performed during landscape and farm maintenance include harvesting, weeding and composting. When it’s lunchtime, I cook for the volunteers,” Lynn shared.

WHAT MAKES GUI UNIQUE

GUI conducts programmes and workshops for people to connect with nature while practising sustainable living with farming, craft and environmentally friendly programmes.

A craft unit of GUI, Touchwood, aims to bring individuals together to create useful ways to recycle used and unwanted materials. Such programmes include crafting and upcycling of waste pallet wood, basic woodworking and furniture-making projects. Volunteers even built the first earth-oven in Singapore, for GUI’s very own pizza and rustic bread workshops!

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Lynn’s biggest challenge in caring for the environment is the culture of waiting for others to take initiative.

“No effort is too small. Influence others to be curious and change their habits, and instil a selfless lifestyle to show care to others. It takes 21 days to form a habit, 90 days to change a lifestyle, persevere and continue,” she added.

KEEPING THE CULTURE ALIVE

Lynn’s advice for keeping the kampung culture alive in Singapore is to start by greeting our neighbours.

“Be the first to smile at strangers because you can. Practise the 5G values (Gracious, Green, Giving, Grounded and Grateful), be green by using your own utensils, and give your time to volunteer. Don’t take things for granted, such as the convenience of clean water from our taps,” she said.

BIGGEST TAKEAWAY

Lynn’s biggest takeaway as a volunteer was learning how to care for herself. As she stays active, works mostly in the sun and eats healthily, her health improves. She’s learnt to care for the community by being gracious to others and learnt to care for the environment by changing her lifestyle - saving energy and water at home and using food scraps as compost which benefits the soil.

WORD OF ADVICE FOR THE CURRENT GENERATION

Lynn encourages the current generation not to live in isolation. “Show care, practise good values, be responsible, lead a simple lifestyle, have courage to change for the better,” she shared.          

“Embrace difference, be it race, languages, age, or nationalities. This is important as Singapore is a transport hub and a multi-racial country. Be creative, have courage to try new things.”