SME Spotlight: City Sprouts redefines urban farming
City Sprouts aims to transform green spaces in Singapore into places where food, education and community can co-exist.
Back in 1967, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew introduced the vision of Singapore as a ‘Garden City’ and since then, Singapore has had no shortage of green spaces. The pandemic has certainly allowed Singaporeans to rediscover the lost parks and heritage trails of our sunny island. But when was the last time you looked at the trees, flowers and grass growing all around in Singapore and saw the possibilities of farming?
That was the disconnect City Sprouts founder, Zhi Kin Chee saw between the social and environmental spaces in Singapore, specifically, the gap between people and food. He, along with his partner Zac, found common ground in building an organisation based on the philosophy of urban rejuvenation and social empowerment. They believe that while it is important to rely on commercial growers to meet consumption needs, farming can and should be decentralised to empower communities to take ownership over food supplies.
Enter City Sprouts
Founded in 2019, City Sprouts’ vision went beyond cultivating green spaces. It aimed to transform them into spaces where food, education and community could co-exist. As with all great ideas, however, Zhi Kin and Zac faced great challenges convincing others about their vision.
Before urban farming became the buzzword it is today, farming as a ground-up initiative was a concept that went against the grain and it seemed that activating green spaces would be anything but a walk in the park. Lucky for them, it paid off.
Developing Sprout Hub
In May 2019, City Sprouts was awarded a tender to redevelop part of the former Henderson Secondary School into an urban farming concept named Sprout Hub. Located at the heart of Redhill, Sprout Hub features 36 allotment greenhouses, a spacious canteen with a varied range of food stalls and a café. Today, gardeners both young and old, agri-preneurs, agrifood and agritech partners can work alongside each other in Sprout Hub and form a real agricultural community.
Thriving despite the pandemic
Many businesses were hit hard during the pandemic, but City Sprouts took advantage of the hunt for green spaces and put together its first Farm Day Out (FDO), showcasing its community farmers, a marketplace selling locally-grown fresh produce, eco-products and educational activities.
Future growth
City Sprouts has recently been awarded the SG Eco Fund by the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment. The funds will be used for Sprout Hub’s final phase of development: building a showcase space that will amplify their outreach efforts. Challenges in visibility and accessibility remain, however, City Sprouts continues to host regular farm tours, interactive workshops and educational talks to bring the ‘gardening’ aspect back to Singapore’s ‘Garden City’.
City Sprouts, Sprout Hub, 102 Henderson Road, café open daily from 11am to 8pm; www.citysprouts.com.sg
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