Community spirit combined with affordable rental is becoming increasingly rare these days, that prompts her to continue her passion at SEED. Ann has received a lot of love and support from neighbors and Social Innovation Park.
The Social Entrepreneurship and Eco-park Development (SEED) farming community is all about passion, sweat and dedication. Our farmers come from all walks of life but the one thing that bonds them is their love for nature and quest for sustainability. One such passionate farmer of our community plots is Ann Liow. Ann first discovered SEED@SIP while walking past the area for her regular morning exercise and was drawn to the idea of running her own plot. Now she tends to her plot about 3 times a week, using the space to grow food for self-consumption since 2019.
Liow Siew Choo (Ann), Hobbyist at SEED Concerned about the healthiness and sustainability of store-bought food, Ann was determined to take charge over what was going into her body by farming her own food. Beyond just being self-sufficient, farming is a good workout to sustain both her physical and mental wellbeing.
She habitually experiments with different planting techniques and makes her own fertiliser by feeding leftover vegetables to her earthworms, who then feed on the organic matter to produce all-natural fertiliser. More impressively, she even engineered her own irrigation system for watering plants while she was too busy to tend to her garden. The system collects and stores rainwater in a container, and then intermittently dispenses water. As farming encourages one to acquire new knowledge, Ann finds herself looking through books or social media to constantly upgrade her farming skills.
Although Ann came to Social Innovation Park to pursue a personal passion, she bonded with a close-knitted community of like-minded individuals. An eye-opening experience for her, she described how everyone was very passionate about their plots and did things that she would never have thought of. The farming community here help each other in farming, sharing practical farming tips as well as harvested fruits and vegetables. Creating a circle of sharing that fosters a greater sense of joy in farming, it also encourages a more mindful way of living. “It really is a healthy and supportive community that I treasure a lot “, Ann said. Now and then she would also organise meetups with friends and family to share her joyful harvest. Farming has become a hobby that is not only enjoyed by herself but also others around her, and keeping friends and family updated on her farming plot’s progress. More than just a farming community, she describes how on special occasions they would come together to celebrate at their plots. “During one Mid-Autumn Festival, with the others from the neighbouring plots, we came together and shared mooncakes and tea while relaxing in her farming plot”, she recounted.
Ann frequently invited many individuals to contribute and volunteer their time at her community plot. Of which she was lucky to have bonded with a mother and daughter over gardening. The pair were just passing by Ann’s plot where a conversation sparked. Taking their initial interaction further, Ann extended an invitation to them to help out in her plot. Ann said “Gardening has helped the mother immensely as she was going through a hard time where gardening became an outlet for her to destress.”
She recalls fondly that she will want to pursue her passion for as long as she is able to because community spirit combined with affordable rental is becoming increasingly rare these days. She has received a lot of love and support from people in and around SEED.