Ground Up Initiative (GUI) is about Forging a beautiful connection with the Earth and the Community. It aims to:
- Foster social and environmental consciousness through programmes and activities that emphasize on living in harmony with the Earth and how to get in touch with ourselves.
- Be a place where values in sustainability and global responsibility can be shared and fostered among all who visit, work and learn. It will serve as a model for Singapore and the developing region.
- Be a showcase of eco-technology and environmentally friendly practices, some of which could be very relevant to making urban Singapore life greener/ more environmentally responsible.
- Be a centre to inspire a re-think of the interaction between the urban dweller and their environment.
- Be a centre for sustainability ideas and concepts incubation.
- Be a centre for training humanitarian expedition teams.
They are currently running several different projects with different objectives and the very first time i went, we got involved with Balik Kampung, which aims to get people in touch with the land and to appreciate nature and understand how much effort is put into producing crops. No, it's not just about FARMING and no, it's not a botanic club :P
We had a bunch of secondary school kids volunteering for their CIP as well, and i guess at that age, you wouldn't fully comprehend or appreciate the thought being such a movement. I mean, when i was 15, i knew the importance of volunteering but i just didn't think of being active. It just seems like a per-requisite, one of the things you have to fulfill to get through the academic system, which is sad. I think there needs to be a balance between work, play and giving back to the community. We should be cultivating people who think with both their hearts and mind. I mean, what are you contributing when all you do is occasionally buy a packet of tissue from elderly folks?
I DIGRESS! (as usual....)
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| Our Kampung Chief giving a talk |
GUI's vision is to build a university where Singaporeans (or everyone actually) can go to pursue their interests in building a better sustainable future for our home. Right now, they've established a sub-unit called the Sustainable Living Lab where people can go to develop their engineering ideas related to sustainability. I was deeply moved when i heard what they were aiming for, and that means... nodding my head profusely like those nodding dogs lol.
Right now, I'm involved in Kampung Play, a project where we build life sized toys from scratch using simple materials.
They'll go on display at Woodlands Civic Centre and we hope that families will enjoy them while fostering strong bonds. Also, it'll get kids away from their little gadgets! This project will be ongoing for 5 months, so if you are interested just drop by on Saturday at 10am :)
GUI's facebook
Bottle Tree Park, Yishun, 81
Lorong Chencharu
Yishun, Singapore 769198
