Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and — Rhythm!
Music is part of almost everyone’s life, whether we enjoy listening to it or creating it. However, musical instruments can be costly, and thus not as readily accessible as they could be. In comes local social enterprise BEAT^ABOX, and their “Green Drumming” initiative.
BEAT^ABOX, a recipient of the SG Eco Fund, started the Green Drumming initiative with the aim to promote environmental consciousness through performances using musical instruments that are upcycled from trash. Everyday household items such as tin cans, baking trays, trash bins, and even brooms and mops are upcycled to make percussion instruments such as drums and drumsticks.
The initiative started in 2019 with the mission to grow a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable art scene by making music out of items that would normally be thrown away. In the three years since BEAT^ABOX’s formation, the team has engaged over 30,000 participants, aged between 8 and 80, through workshops and performances.
Beyond Music
While making music is one of the learning objectives of Green Drumming, the team hopes to use the programme to raise awareness about sustainability and the value of second chances. This is why the initiative has a heavy focus on engaging youths-at-risk.
Musician Arthur Choo, 36, founder of BEAT^ABOX, got inspired to start Green Drumming after learning about the high costs of musical instruments in Singapore and how many youths-at-risk were not able to afford them.
Arthur believes that music can become a vehicle of happiness and change, and provide opportunities for people to connect and come together. Drawing from his personal experience as where he almost went down the wrong path, Arthur wanted to reinforce the message that nothing in life is wasted, and that these upcycled instruments are proof that waste can be turned into something beautiful and useful again.
“Some of these at-risk youths don’t really study. Their attention might be else — gaming and maybe even other bad habits. Our program tries to position the green drums as a fun, trendy instrument which youths can even customise with graffiti. Just like that, the drums become a canvas for these youths to express their emotions.”
“Sounds Like Trash” But Moving Forward Still
Starting Green Drumming was not without challenges, and Arthur shared that he and his team had received criticism before.
“We’ve been told that our music sounded like trash just because we are using a trash can. Despite such criticisms, we are not offended because that is exactly what we want to tell our audience — that even with trash, we can make music.”
Where do they go from here?
“Our team is looking into creating a musical this year. We hope to produce our own stage, backdrops and instruments using waste materials. We think this will be a good opportunity to empower youths as they get to be involved every step of the way and also perform!”
SG Eco Fund
Arthur says that the invaluable support from the SG Eco Fund has allowed the team to expand their outreach programmes too, helping them to achieve their targets quicker.
Making a music video to engage the community is one such example. The funding also helped them defray the cost of carrying out collection drives for recyclable materials, as they got the resources to hire more manpower to scale up these activities.
Arthur adds: “Receiving the SG Eco Fund is not just about getting financial support. It’s about aligning with our nation’s sustainability vision, and being able to work towards that goal together.”
Inspired by Green Drumming’s story to come up with a green community initiative of your own? The SG Eco Fund offers funding to support the co-creation of sustainability initiatives in Singapore, so you can grow your green ideas. Visit www.mse.gov.sg/sgecofund for more information!
#SGEcoFund #SGGreenPlan
