Lease ending on 28 February 2025: Ecologically and community-centric society Ground-Up Initiative to fundraise for big move

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

In 2008, led by the late Mr Tay Lai Hock, GUI started with 10 persons in a small corner of Lim Chu Kang. It is where she ran her first Balik Kampung programme, for city dwellers to connect and heal. 15 years & more than 1000 Balik Kampungs later, GUI has built a 2.6ha nature-inspired space that has allowed hundreds of thousands of people to come for their healing (mentally, physically, and in spirit) and connection with nature. GUI has done this through the power of the community led by a group of committed individuals.

Ground-Up Initiative (GUI)’s current site lease at 91 Lorong Chencharu will end by February 2025, with the land slated for new housing developments. After months of waiting and holding our breath, we are excited to formally announce that GUI has secured a new site in the heartlands of Khatib.

With a big move comes a bigger challenge. We target to fundraise about $4.5mil in a few phases. Beyond the hardware, GUI’s new space will remain focused on environmental sustainability and community building. GUI also aims to strengthen its current ecosystem of educational partners who share in common social and environmental missions of reconnecting people with nature, fostering sustainable living, and nurturing the community spirit. Community remains central to our ethos, regardless of where we are. Together with our educational partners, we will continue to hold the mental, emotional and physical well-being of families, youths and seniors of all abilities close to what we do.

We need your help for #GUIsBigMove. Our current site, where we have been located since 2009, houses a chemical-free farm, an earth oven, a community-run tuckshop, a woodworking space, and a backyard hosting an ecosystem of educational partners. The space has allowed GUI to conduct over 700 programmes, and engage over 150,000 volunteers and participants. With your contribution, we can make our new space as inspiring, enriching, educational, diverse and participative as 91 Lorong Chencharu has been. 

Today, we officially launch our fundraiser. Every dollar will go towards the construction of our new space, brick by brick, one seedling at a time, from the ground-up. We hope you will support us and spread the word.

This campaign is for Ground-Up Initiative (GUI). The funds will be used to build the new GUI campus. This will include the following fees;
a) Professional fees (Including Architectural, Civil & Structure Engineering, Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Landscape Architectural & Green Mark Consulting)
b) Authorities’ plan processing charges
c) Site inspectorate
d) Demolition of the existing building(s) in the current site so as to reuse some of the materials in the new site
e) Furniture and fittings
f) Operating equipment
g) External works
h) BCA Green Mark assessment
i) Goods and Services Tax

We aim to raise $4,500,000 in 3 different building phases.

Phase 1: SGD$2,000,000
Based on the following:
1) Arcadis’s latest (2022, Q2) Quarterly Construction Cost Review
2) Approximate Building Cost for Single Storey Industrial Buildings – S$(1600-1,750)/sqm CFA
3) 2500sqm built-up space

The building cost only is approximately S$4,000,000 – S$4,375,000.
The approximate total professional fee is about 15% of the total construction cost

About GUI

GUI is a non-profit organization that connects people with nature, one another, and self through various back-to-basic activities (e.g. farming, craft & earth oven) in a nature-inspired space at Khatib.
Contact: Bingyu @ 9651 9866 (WhatsApp)

Website: https://groundupinitiative.org/
Telegram: https://t.me/GUInews
Linkedin: Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) 聚友爱
IG: groundupinitiative

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