Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) is a non-profit society active since 2008. We currently operate on a 26,000sqm plot of land leased from the Singapore government, running programs and community engagement activities to connect people with Nature, Self & Others.

We seek to cultivate a sense of rootedness by involving people physically in the light construction, maintenance, and upkeeping of our shared spaces as well as back-to-basics activities. By doing so, GUI hopes to rekindle not only the Kampung charm, but also to instill a strong sense of ownership, resilience, pride and honour in our nation, for a happier and more sustainable future.

GUI is mostly powered by volunteers, working alongside the core team and freelancing facilitators to carry out our mission. 

Learn more: About GUI

Brick by brick, the Kampung Kampus has been built up through the power of community. As GUI is not funded by the government or other corporate entities, we have been trying to be self-sufficient through the paid programs.

The nature of these programs varies according to their respective thematic focus areas and cater towards a range of groups, ranging from individuals and families, to corporations and public agencies. We also offer team-building experiences that are highly experiential in nature!

Public Programs
Corporate Programs
School Education Programs

(P.S. we really did use bricks developed in-house for construction of the Kampung Kampus. Try to spot them at the Kampung Kampus)

The value and importance of volunteers cannot be understated! Our pool of volunteers play an integral role in the maintenance and even operations of GUI and all our pillars. Each pillar draw upon a pool of volunteers to support their work in the fields of farming, woodcraft and earth-oven baking.

Do you have a particular interest which you wish to develop together with us? Or perhaps, simply looking for a way to help us out? Check out the various ways you can join our family of volunteers in the next few tabs!

For new volunteers who wish to experience the GUI spirit and Kampung Charm.

Return home! Since 2008, we have opened the doors of the Kampung Kampus to the general public through our flagship volunteering programme Balik Kampung which runs on selected Saturdays.

Individuals participate in a variety of tasks and activities which are necessary for the upkeep and maintenance of the Kampung Kampus depending on the particular needs of the day. Be prepared to exert as these activities are physical in nature! Remember to come properly dressed in active wear and cover shoes, and most importantly, bring along positive can-do attitude.

Young ones are also welcome to participate in Balik Kampung as well, and can be engaged by simple housekeeping tasks. There’s something for everyone at the Kampung!

*Due to COVID restrictions, we can only accommodate maximum 15 volunteers per session. We hope to prioritize those who have never experienced Balik Kampung before.

If this is you, register your interest for Balik Kampung here, and we’ll get in touch when there are slots available:

For anyone who wishes to come and help out at least once a week for at least a month, to help out with a variety of tasks and activities necessary for the upkeep and maintenance of the Kampung Kampus. 

*Due to COVID restrictions, we only have limited vacancies. We seek your understanding and patience while waiting for our response.

Please sign up here to be a regular volunteer:

Awesome at doing something which you think may be of help to us? Please let us know! We are happy to engage individuals or groups who have expertise across a spectrum of skills which can be channelled into GUI’s growth, in areas including but not limited to:

If you have a skill which you would like to contribute, please fill up this form and we shall get in touch with you –

Many hands make work light! Bring along a group and come support the upkeeping and maintenance of the Kampung Kampus as group volunteers.

For group volunteering, we respectfully ask for a kind monetary contribution to help support the Kampung Kampus operations. Examples of corporations and agencies who have volunteered with us include various primary and secondary schools, JTC, Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Medtronic and many more.

GUI is not funded by the government, foundations or corporations. We are self-funded and run programmes and volunteer activities to reach out to people with our philosophy and sustain a 26,000sqm of land financially. Every monetary contribution helps and we would appreciate it deeply!

Send a pigeon messenger to us involve@groundupinitiative.org if you are keen to organise such a session!

Family Days? Sure!
Event seminars? Got you covered!
Camps? Our tents are calling out to you!

Our Kampung Kampus comprises of a variety of unique spaces suited for a variety of uses, and we have an array of logistics to support your event needs. Download this handbook to find out more about rental rates and coordinate a site visit.

Click here to view our spaces at Kampung Kampus!

Our classes are catered to the specific age range of our participants, taking into account their attention span, interests as well as average ability for children of specific ages to complete the tasks safely. We do have a decent range of workshops for children of all ages.

That said, we do allow some flexibility of +/– one years old for parents who believe their child would be able to complete the tasks based on their own judgement.

Our workshops encourage children to be risk-taking and independent, hence, we do prefer parents to give their children the space to take part in the workshop independently under the guidance of our instructors.

Do write in to touchwood@groundupinitiative.org if you have any questions with regards to whether or not your child is suitable for the workshop or if you have special requests for us to take note.

Yes. However, there will be an additional charge of $50 for the rescheduled session, as it will be an essentially 1-to-1 class.

If you are an active participant from one of our ongoing public workshops, you may make use of our tools and facilities if you wish to put in additional hours on your project specific to the workshop, subject to the availability of the facilities.

If you are unable to complete your project past the duration of the program, you may continue to enjoy the use of our facilities within 4 weeks past the conclusion date of the program to work on the project-specific to the program, beyond which a day rate of $80 would be chargeable if you wish to continue to use our facilities.

If you are both new to the workshop and to woodworking, we would strongly recommend that you undergo one of our introductory woodworking programs first.

If you are making multiple signups for a scheduled public program, you could write in to touchwood@groundupinitiative.org with your request.

With a Group Signup, you would be able to enjoy a 10% discount off your course fees.

Payment in this mode of registration would be processed via Electronic Banking Transfer or PayNow.

Yes you can!

The charges will be based on:

a. Type of workshop

b. Number of pax and age group

c. Any customization

d. Duration

Please contact us directly for a quote with the details listed above – at touchwood@groundupinitiative.org

You may view our programs for corporate or schools here:

Corporate Programs
School Education Programs

Kindly contact us using the contact form on our website and select the subject as “Corporate/Educational Programs”.

Contact Us

To facilitate an efficient communication, it will be great if you can include the following in your email:

a. Group Size

b. Preferred Month/Date

c. Duration

d. Budget

e. The theme/learning objectives/topics that your company or school wishes to address

Yes you may.

We do provide personal coaching workshops if you wish to have a 1-to-1 session for those who wish to direct their own learning experience.

Fees will be based on the item’s size and complexity, the materials costs, the duration needed as well as the facilitator fees.

A confirmation email will be sent, once a minimum number of participants to start a workshop has been met.

In the event of a low take-up rate or bad weather conditions, the workshop may be subject to rescheduling.

Participants will be informed 1 week in advance.

In the event if you are not able to attend the workshop which you have registered and paid for, kindly inform us ahead of time and we will reschedule you for the next available run of the public workshop.

Alternatively, you could also have the option of having your payments reserved as transferable credits that could be used for your future participation in other programs organised by us.

In the event that you are not able to attend a program and wish to work towards getting a refund, please note that a 10% administrative fee would be levied on your payment.

Fancy some chemical-free grown greens? Limited stocks harvested straight from our farm only every Saturday from 10 am – 1 pm at our facility, the Kampung Kampus located at 91 Lorong Chencharu. Come buy them at our retail counter before they’re sold out! We also stock a variety of dried goods, organic mushrooms and honey from our partners. Come check it out.

Of course! We’ve had people from various groups and firms visit the Kampung Kampus to learn more about our work and how it resonates with our themes of personal development, community spirit and sustainability. This can be done a variety of ways, from guided tours; volunteering activities to speaking and sharing sessions, depending on the nature of your objectives.

For group visits, we respectfully ask for a kind monetary contribution to help support the Kampung Kampus operations. Let us know at involve@groundupinitiative.org with information about the following details and we’ll be delighted to see how we are able to accommodate your visit:

• Objective(s) of your visit

• What you intend to do (if any) at Kampung Kampus

• Group size & profile

• Proposed dates / timings

• Budget for visit

• Additional comments you’d like us to know.

We’re honoured to have received requests from various groups and institutions to speak on a variety of subject matters with regards to themes ranging from sustainability to the environment. If you’d like us to share more about our work and perspectives at your event, email us at involve@groundupinitiative.org with the following details:

• What is the theme(s) which you would like us to share about

• What is the profile of the audience

• Are you interested in any particular speaker(s) from GUI

• What are the dates and timings which you’re looking at

• What are the details of your budget for this

• Additional comments