Sembawang harvests 760kg of vegetables from community gardens for the low-income

SINGAPORE — For about a month, they tended to their community gardens faithfully, hoping to harvest about 500kg of vegetables, which would be given away to voluntary welfare organisations and low-income families of Sembawang GRC. 

Their dedication paid off more handsomely than expected: The final harvest weighed about 760kg. The vegetables, which included lettuce, kai-lan, chye sim and sweet potato leaves, were distributed to 250 low-income families and nine voluntary welfare organisations today (April 12).

The SG50 Green Harvest project — an initiative by Sembawang GRC — more than doubled last year’s record of 250kg of vegetables gathered from six community gardens. This year’s project saw 140 residents and students working on 17 community gardens located in residential blocks within the constituency as well as Marsiling Primary School and Woodlands Secondary School. The vegetables were harvested over the past week. 

Community gardens have become an increasingly common feature in the constituency, said Mr Hawazi Daipi, adviser to the Marsiling Grassroots Organisations who chaired this year’s SG50 Green Harvest project. He said the grassroots organisations aimed to set up community gardens in every residential block, which would yield a bigger harvest for similar projects in the future. 

“However, the challenge is looking for a plot of land,” said Mr Hawazi, who is also Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Education and Manpower), adding that an average community garden measured 10m by 10m.

The National Parks Board is looking at more innovative ways to set up community gardens, such as using flower pots instead of a patch of land, but there will not be another Green Harvest project this year.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who was at the event today, said the project helped restore the kampung spirit in the community. “It’s not just about the gardening; it is about social engagement. It allows the (gardeners) to get together every day and meet friends, make new ones and know that they are growing for a good cause. The kampung spirit is about helping one another,” said Mr Khaw, who is also a Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC.

He added: “I grew up in a kampung ... where everyone would have a small patch of land on which they can grow vegetables. (Today,) if you live in a Housing and Development Board block, you can’t have your own patch of land, but you can have a community garden.”

Madam Siti Umah, 71, who has been tending to the community garden in Woodlands Zone 2 three times a week for the past 10 years, said gardening kept her active. “It is very therapeutic and keeps me healthy,” she said. 

Mdm Pang Ah Lan, 78, said the activity “enhanced her retirement”, as it allowed her to spend her golden years outdoors with her friends, instead of staying at home. Mdm Pang joined the Woodlands Avenue 3 community garden earlier this year.

There are more than 850 community gardens across Singapore, and more than 20,000 residents have worked on these gardens. The gardens were launched under the Community in Bloom programme in 2005.