Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)

05/08/2026

🍌𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑺𝒊𝒕𝒆! 🍌

On 21 December 2024, GUI held its last classroom series "Dirt to Life" before its big move. One of its programme included an agroforestry planting workshop by from Habitat Collective . Participants learnt about tree guilds and visited our new site for the very first time and planted its first vegetation. 💚

One of the highlights was creating banana circles.🍌 Today, we're celebrating a special milestone. One of those banana circles has flourished beautifully, and just look at how tall our banana trees have grown! We were delighted to harvest our very first batch of bananas, and they were incredibly sweet!

We also learnt from our dear friend, Ranchandran, how to use the banana stem and discovered its many health benefits. It was a wonderful reminder that every part of the plant has value.

Looking back on where it all began and seeing how much has grown fills us with much gratitude. It was also especially meaningful for our volunteers to experience the joy of harvesting and witness just how fruitful our land has become. Here's to many more abundant harvests and shared moments of learning, growing, and celebrating together. 🌿💚

02/08/2026

“There is something ancient and nourishing about working with my hands and being out innature that draws me back to GUI. Modern life is hectic and bruising, but GUI trains me topractise intention and cultivate attention. There is enough space and ample time here for peopleto be full-time humans.

Lunch is my favourite time at GUI, sitting with the other volunteers and scooting our stoolsaround what seems like a comically small table, because that's how much we want to sittogether.

Tender moments like these get me thinking that perhaps this is how humans are meant to live.

Communally, with everyone pouring their time, attention, and hearts. I like the warm, connectedand intentional version of me over my rushed, cynical and isolated self. GUI filled thiskampung-shaped hole I hadn't realise was in my heart.

My selfish wish is to grow old together with GUI and watch the saplings we planted blossom intotrees. If we help each other, we will get there. All flourishing is mutual.”

- Yew, Humans of GUI, 2026

30/07/2026

🧘 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝑼𝒔 🪴

Sometimes the most meaningful journey is the one that brings you back to yourself. 🌍💚 Join our friends from the Centre for Inner Studies Singapore at our next classroom series for an afternoon of mindful movement, conscious breathing, and peaceful stillness. Step away from the rush and reconnect with what truly matters. 🌿

📅 29 August 2026, Saturday
🕜 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
📍 Training Room
🧘 Bring a yoga mat or a big towel.
🎟️ Pay-As-You-Wish | RSVP by 27 August

🎟️ Sign up here: https://bit.ly/Ground-Beneath-Us
or at link in bio for instagram.

29/07/2026

🌱 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒔 🌱

Looking for a meaningful Sunday activity? Join us at Discover Kampung Kampus Day and learn how to turn unwanted paper into beautiful handmade paper, decorated with dried flowers, leaves, and other natural materials. Each piece is uniquely yours—perfect as a keepsake, card, bookmark, or for journaling.:)

Whether you're a craft lover, curious about sustainable living, or simply looking for a meaningful morning out, everyone is welcome.

Stay on also to explore Kampung Kampus, enjoy delicious bakes and drinks, and connect with our warm community.💚

📍 Kampung Kampus
⏰ 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📅 Every 3rd Sunday (Next session: 16 August 2026)

Bring your curiosity—and any unwanted paper—and join us for a morning of creativity, sustainability, and community. We can't wait to create with you! 🌿♻️

28/07/2026

🎨✨ WELLNESS EXPERIENCE REVEAL 1️⃣: CREATE & UNWIND

Wellness isn’t just about slowing down — sometimes, it’s about getting creative, trying something new, and creating something yourself! 💛

At SpECial Treats Fiesta 2026, get ready to create, craft and unwind with our creative wellness experiences:

👏🏼 Preschool Market — Crafty Keychains
👏🏼 Zohrah Gallery Studio — DIY Creative Art Buffet
👏🏼 Ground Up Initiative — Bag Tag Making

Whether you’re personalising a bag tag, crafting your own keychain, or putting your artistic touch on a tote — take some time to make, create and enjoy! ✨

📅 29 August 2026, Saturday
⏰ 11AM – 3PM
📍 Begonia Pavilion, Downtown East

Ready to get crafty? 👀
🫵🏻 See you at SpECial Treats 2026! Sign Up Link in our bio or click the link here: https://www.yourtessera.com/e/special-treats-2026 🫵🏻

22/07/2026

Come join us this Saturday!

🌿 𝑴𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 🌿

Change begins when communities connect with nature. 🌿

🌱 Join Daphne, founder of Wild Space and Festival Director of the Earth in Focus Singapore Nature Film Festival, as she shares powerful stories of building stronger connections with nature and communities as we explore how conservation, storytelling, and collective action can create a more sustainable future. Don't miss this engaging Classroom Series session on,

📅 25 July 2026, Saturday
🕜 Time: 12:30–2:00 PM
📍 Venue: GUI Training Room

Register by 22 July!💚

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgrwh2IDhj6wNeVThL0gSJT3_K-hZPMAFZrxJh9vc10-MVgw/viewform

22/07/2026

😍 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝑩𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 🪴

It was such a joy to welcome Korean friends to Ground-Up Initiative last week and share our journey—our mission to care for our planet by addressing apathy through sustainability education, hands-on experiences, and building a community that reconnects people with the environment, with one another, and with themselves.

We loved showing them around our space and getting our hands busy. From transforming discarded glass bottles into beautiful upcycled glass tiles, to turning waste wood into personalized laptop stands, every activity was a reminder that small, intentional actions can create meaningful change.

Beyond the workshops, some of the most memorable moments came through our conversations—reflecting on our experiences, exchanging ideas, and learning from one another. Our GUI team was also deeply inspired by the passion, curiosity, and heart of these youths. They reminded us to reflect on the purpose that keeps us going, and how grateful we are for a community of like-minded people who encourage one another and inspire the next generation to care deeply.

We are especially thankful for this blossoming friendship. Though we come from different places, we were reminded that our shared hope for a kinder, more sustainable world brings us together. Thank you for journeying with us. We look forward to many more opportunities to learn, create, and grow with friends from around the world. :)

20/07/2026

“A few of us ‘rebels in the system’ were called to a meeting with the Ministry of Education (in 2014). That was where I met Xu Hong, Hui Ying and Lai Hock for the first time. Afterwards, Lai Hock invited me to come see Ground-Up Initiative (GUI). He said to me, ‘If the rich can come together to get richer, why can’t good people come together and do greater good?’

I was quite inward looking prior to meeting him. Subsequently I became more collaborative. GUI and Pivotal Learning Pte Ltd (my company) would combine efforts to bid for projects and do things together. I also worked with the core team through the leadership transition, facilitating the conversation, thinking about how to bring GUI forward…

My view is that GUI will always have issues with funding because we are reaching people that the formal system does not support.

In society, those who cannot keep the pace will fall behind. GUI is a gathering space for the old, the lonely, those in career transitions, the youth that never quite fit in in school… GUI gives them the space to heal and grow at the pace that makes sense to them, to be themselves.

It is both hard to appreciate the work of GUI, and difficult to measure impact.

If I were to describe GUI’s work, it would be “默默耕耘”. GUI is not boastful of what it does. At the same time, it would be hard to recreate GUI – which is a group of ordinary people doing extraordinary work.

Currently I am running a fundraising campaign for GUI on Give.Asia (https://give.asia/campaign/100-100-gui), targeting $50,000. I also aim to connect GUI to big donors so that the funding source might be more sustainable, to grow, expand, and reach out to more people in Singapore.”

– Lye Yen Kai, Humans of GUI, 2026

17/07/2026

The Singapore Transport Charity Auction has come to an end and what a ride it has been! 🚈❤️

Someone took home a 2-seater train seat for $2,020. 80 of you placed 453 bids on decommissioned parts from the Sengkang-Punggol LRT, and things got competitive right up to the final midnight. 🥳

Most importantly, together we raised $7,868 for Extra•Ordinary People's Independent Mobility Training programme.

You came for the collectibles, but you gave something far more valuable: the freedom to move independently. 💜

A huge thank you to LTA for your generous donation of the decommissioned Sengkang-Punggol LRT parts that made this possible, the Singapore Government Partnerships Office, Ken Shop, Ground Up Initiatives, and everyone who bid, donated their own collectibles, or shared the auction online.

From all of us at HeartBid, thank you! ❤️

14/07/2026

“I was an environmental science student, and loved the logical and systematic rigor of the sciences. Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) has shown me the humanistic aspects of environmentalism.

It doesn’t have to be as complicated as green finance, carbon credits, reporting frameworks etc.

It can be as simple as taking care of a piece of land and nurturing it, so that it creates an environment for people to be more connected to the earth and form relationships with each other. For me right now, volunteering and being at GUI is the most direct way that I fulfill my need to be in touch with the environment and do something for it.

One specific lesson stands out for me: as a geoscientist, I am trained in making physical observations of the earth, like the grain size, colour and structure of the soil. But when I was saving fertile topsoil from the old GUI site, I began to see how the soil is life and the legacy of people from the past, that serves to nourish the present generation. This very human connection to the earth and to soil at GUI is new to me – and something my science brain could not relate to in the past

When I think of the old site, I always recall one of the first few Balik Kampungs I ever attended when my group was tasked to wash the fake grass carpet. It was a mix of young and old. The carpet, as you remember, is super heavy. And when wet, it got even heavier. One of my groupmates was an engineer. He started to jot ideas on a piece of paper and created a conveyor belt system. People at the end would scrub, and people at the end of the conveyor belt would be turning the carpet. The conveyor belt involves broomsticks, chairs and people and brute force. It reminded me how GUI can be very impromptu. We need to be open to new ideas, keep the ball rolling and eventually we will hit on a solution. In that moment the beauty of GUI really came through for me.”

– Sherryl, Humans of GUI, 2026