Sunday at Bottle Tree Park

I've not heard of Yasmin Ahmad before until her death recently. I was immediately fascinated at the links shared by close friends on facebook upon the news of her death. Yasmin, as I've understood it, is a filmmaker. One who has had several commercials done for Petronas. The significance of these TVCs were impactful for they were videos on inter-racial relationships as seen through the eyes of young children. I would have wished to be more immersed in her works, in order to share the loss. I would have wished to have been able to meet with her personally and hear her speeches/talks. I would have.

I'd next like to share my short trips over the week.

On Sunday, I got to know more about the work Ground-Up Initiative is working on. Lai Hock introduced me to the Sustainable Urban Farm otherwise known as SURF located at Bottle Tree Park. Because the trip from Bedok to Khatib MRT station took a while, I made plans to wake up at 6am. I ended up waking up at 6:30 only to make it 10 minutes later at the spot Lai Hock and team have agreed to meet at.

I was glad to have come and felt excited when I finally met him and the team. Lai Hock brought us for a 10 minute walk to the park. I met others in the team, one of whom posed to be an incessant irritant who happens to be an engineer. He later was set to task and built a make-shift waterfall. The space SURF got was small, the size of a 4-room flat hall space. It is elongated and there are 2 entrances, front and back. The walls have plastic covers on them. There are a few beds of spaces created along the sides of these plastic walls. There are 2 sinks built with dry leaves on the bottom to decorate, I presume. Maybe Lai Hock might have an elaborate explanation behind it, but I truly think it is aesthetically pleasing.

Lai Hock started out with a circle, to give introductions for new volunteers. And to also engage current volunteers into sharing what they're grateful for. From a first glance, it seemed like a circle of greenies, hippie-loving bohemians ready to start the treacherous day and support each other to weather the storms. From someone who opens herself up not too easily, I was not willing to share too much in the circle.

Lai Hock then talked about the tasks to do for the day. One of which involved transplanting which I put my hand up for. He got me and Andy, the Project Leader of SURF to pull out current plants and spread it out. What we didn't know was how to do it until Lilian, a former NEA expert came to show us how. Basically, the trick is to cut off the leaves and only plant the roots. That was what I did and brought home the leave to cook. Unfortunately, I am too quick to add to much lime into my dish while cooking the vegetables. It was too sour.