GUILD: Ground-Up Innovation Labs for Development

COMMUNITY. Mission Accomplished: 50 new Floating Gardeners trained up at Choa Chu Kang CC 🌾 It's been a long while since we conducted an in-person workshop for adult learners and fellow citizens to learn to make Floating Chinampas using @lorealparis 'beauty empties'. This hands-on experience is part of the Zero Waste Testbed Initiative by @nus_singapore and @southwest.cdc. We shared how plastics can be put to good use to grow food towards achieving 30 by 30, a national goal set by the @sgfoodagency. We're blessed to have Minister @gankimyong from @mti_sg with us during the programme. We look forward to growing this movement to more organisations, communities and schools. You can also join our Telegram group to stay in touch: https://t.me/floatingchinampas #FloatingChinampas #KeepItGrowing #30by30 (at Choa Chu Kang Community Club) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdUZl7ovLps/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Indeed, without mothers, we would not have great inventions ❤️ #HappyMothersDay https://www.instagram.com/p/CdShmb5Lc3I/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

LOVE. Wishing everyone who loves the Earth, especially the innovators, educators, scientists, farmers, makers, entrepreneurs and countless many doing your part, may we all have a Happy Earth Day 🌳 Also wishing Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) a blessed bountiful birthday 🌻 "In this earth, In this soil, In this pure field Let's not plant any seed Other than seeds of compassion and love." - Rumi https://www.instagram.com/p/CcrXCA8v_gD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

SATURDAY. Harvested from our hydroponics, tended to our soil vege bed, trained over 45 pax to build our Floating Chinampas for the Floating Gardens Initiative via Zoom, ate great vegetarian meal and 'energy ball' made up of dates, chocolate, raisin and many more by Chef Mary ❤️ What a plant-based day 😄🌾 (at Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbkFRBBLdvu/?utm_medium=tumblr

Second species of flowers being grown 🌷 Pleasantly surprised that this plant survive the moist substrate of the Floating Chinampas 👍 #FloatingGardensInitiative #KeepItGrowing https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbhb8jvLCVV/?utm_medium=tumblr

After Circuit Breaker, the Lim Chu Kang farmers shared that our Floating Chinampas somehow attract frogs. Didn't get to see them because that pond got bulldozed. Finally, today got to see at least 3 small frogs with my own eyes. Curious to know what species they are. Hopefully our Floating Gardens Initiative will not only help grow food beyond our scarce land but also bring back biodiversity and wildlife alongside agriculture. https://www.instagram.com/p/CaFGvT3vs1H/?utm_medium=tumblr

BUG. Spotted an insect near our Floating Chinampa modules. What species might it be? #FloatingGardensInitiative #FloatingChinampas #GrowInTheCommunity (at Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CY6mZSxP8ks/?utm_medium=tumblr

ENVIRONMENT. Decided to work on the roof garden and indoor hydroponics earlier. One of the challenges behind growing food on water through the Floating Gardens Initiative is that plants, like humans, prefer different climate & environment for physical & intellectual growth. As the Japanese judges rightfully pointed out, our invention is hard to be categorised: it's not really hydroponics, possibly aquaponics but also soil-based. One of our joys in life is to break silos, labels and categorisation. It's simply as it is: a Floating Chinampa system. #GrowInTheCommunity #FloatingChinampas #FloatingGardensInitiative #SDG (at Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CY0udECK7Vw/?utm_medium=tumblr

LOGISTICS. Hmmm.. what are we doing in one of the most intelligent warehouses in Singapore? It's a little known fact that our founder has worked in the innovation department of a global logistics MNC before and handled logistics in the military. #MovingTheWorld #SupplyChain (at Bolloré Blue Hub) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYvVn9DrV0l/?utm_medium=tumblr

INVENT. Very blessed to drop by the workspace and garage of another fellow inventor, Kee Wee, the man behind @lionsforge_sg . We regard him as the 'Iron Man of Singapore' because he works with metals and lasers much, and he has flown the skies too 💪 His invention enables you to do laser cutting anytime anywhere because it moves around like a luggage. And if you want to do it in an indoor enclosed space, you can by attaching the air filter. How do we know? Because we tried it and our students have done much laser cutting without us having to breathe smoke in the air-conditioned labs we were working in. Do check out the CraftLaser if you have yet to get one. Since Chinese New Year is around the corner, we're kinda curious what interesting designs Kee Wee and his laser cutting community might come up with. #BuildInTheCommunity #Inventors #LaserCutting #CitizenBuilders (at LionsForge) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYqq2swPUpO/?utm_medium=tumblr

CIRCULAR. What you often see are beautiful photos of the plants that grow from our Floating Chinampa modules. And they're as such because we do maintenance like trimming, cutting, weeding and removal of dead ones that did not survive the wet soil conditions. So, what becomes of these 'failures'? We send them to our earthworm colleagues who love spending time in the dirt, breaking them up into vermicompost, that we could later use for substrates in next batches of Floating Chinampas. #GrowInTheCommunity #CircularEconomy https://www.instagram.com/p/CYkcaIDv4r7/?utm_medium=tumblr

RAJA. Our Ulam Raja bloomed bright yellow on our Floating Chinampa. Literally meaning 'the King's salad', it is known for its medicinal, antibacterial and antifungal properties. Scientific name: Cosmos sulphureus #FloatingGardensInitiative #FloatingChinampas #GrowInTheCommunity #GrowLocal (at Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYkZZ3-vUm7/?utm_medium=tumblr

SPARK. Thank you for making our Firestarting experience FULL HOUSE 🚀 This means so much to our team of coaches as many of our outdoor programmes were cancelled since 2020 due to COVID measures 🙏 Wishing you a great start to 2022. As Social Collider CEO Russ likes to say: "May sparks fly!" #BuildInTheCommunity #GetCurious #YoungPreppers #GiveAndBuild (at Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYjScysJNkD/?utm_medium=tumblr

Good morning 🌻 Perhaps music on our award-winning iBam eco artisan speaker can help soothe your Monday blues away. Taken at the Fairmont Singapore hotel. #MondayBlues #SustainableMusic #KeepItGrowing #LOHAS (at Fairmont Singapore) https://www.instagram.com/groundupinnovation/p/CYiOsMUPEaC/?utm_medium=tumblr

FULL HOUSE. What a blast! We all sure had great fun at Kampung Open House launching water rockets into the air. What we love even more is the spirit of experimentation and iteration several Young Rocketeers had to improve flight paths. Never give up, kids 🚀 Not forgetting you, amazing parents, who sacrificed yourselves being dry. Yups, we'll do anything for children so that they enjoy, even by getting wet 👍 #YoungEngineers #YoungRocketeers #BuildInTheCommunity #STEMed (at Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYg8SLrvsu3/?utm_medium=tumblr

LAUNCH. Thanks to your support, our Rocketry experience was FULL HOUSE 🚀 It's been a long while since we last conducted it at the Istana Open House pre-COVID. This means a lot to us because your financial support has helped us tide through the pandemic 🙏 Towards greater launches and nurturing more Young Rocketeers this 2022! "The sky is not the limit, your imagination is." #BuildInTheCommunity #GetCurious #YoungRocketeers #GiveAndBuild (at Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYdVj2cp6oc/?utm_medium=tumblr

ART. We had a great time bringing natural materials for our Young Chemists, who then turned them into dyes and paints. Guided by esteemed natural chemists and artists, Liz and Shirin from Wild Dot and Ibnur from GUILD, these students had great fun as we built up their esteem and openness to express themselves ❤ #BuildInTheCommunity #GiveAndBuild https://www.instagram.com/p/CYdLbLaPoOD/?utm_medium=tumblr