It’s been at least two years since I last popped by Ground-Up Initiative‘s HQ – Kampung Kampus, situated at the location formally known as Bottle Tree Park, it was certainly a long overdue visit. It was so good to see Kampung Chief, Tay Lai Hock, again and I was so blown away by the changes from my last visit.
Ground-Up Initiative has come a long way since they started out in 2008. From having a small space beside a wheatgrass farming operation (I believe the owner generously let them use the space), they are now on 26,000 square metres, and in the midst of building a learning campus which teaches urban farming, craftsmanship and other skills, have a large volunteer base and many community-based programmes that encourage leadership development, experiential learning and community bonding.
They also have an incredible woodworking space, and a few productive vegetable gardens, one of them, a permaculture food garden. They supply supermarket chain, Yes Natural, and you can also buy their produce at a fruit and vegetable stand on the premises.
When Kampung Kampus is completed, it will look like this. Intrigued? Read on…
Let’s begin in the organic market garden. I saw a highly productive vegetable garden with green leafy vegetables, winged beans, green beans, roselle, corn, cucumbers, lemongrass, bananas and papayas. I will talk about their permaculture garden in a separate entry.
A short walk away is their woodworking workshop and brickery, a truly awesome space. This craft arm of Ground-Up Initiative is known as TouchWood, you can follow their Facebook page to stay informed of their events.
There’s a new space in development behind this beautifully painted construction hoarding. You will find several nature-inspired murals with relevant quotes on these hoardings, designed and painted by school students from different educational institutions.
As you can tell, there is incredible vision for Kampung Kampus. They are currently in phase one of the build, and are fundraising, so if you’d like to contribute, please get in touch with them by emailing involve@groundupinitiative.org.
If you’d like to get a feel of what they are doing and work the land, visit them each Saturday morning during their community programme – Balik Kampung. You can read up about it and register here.
Kampung Kampus is located at 91 Lorong Chencharu, Singapore 769201, a short walk from Khatib MRT. Pop by and be inspired!
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