Join the Fight Against Climate Change at Vidacity
The Singapore heartland hub teaches the public how to live sustainably, fosters a community of green social enterprises and supports eco-research.
While serving National Service, Varden Toh was troubled by the sight of trays of discarded food. Enough had to be catered for the hordes of hungry soldiers at camp, but it was difficult to avoid preparing excessive amounts.
“There was so much food wasted,” says Varden. “But what could I do?”
Jodie Monteiro had a similar notion. A hobbyist potter who experimented with waste material, she was perturbed by the mounds of eggshells and coffee grounds thrown out by homes across Singapore, and felt more could be done to reduce household waste.
“Not only does our throwaway culture make the waste situation even harder to tackle by dampening our waste disposal and sorting systems, it also endangers our natural habitats and biodiversity,” shares Jodie.
The two Singaporeans’ sentiments were triggered by a trend that has persisted over decades.
As much as the growth of cities such as the island state has brought innovation and prosperity, it has also given rise to modern urban lifestyles marked by overconsumption. Producing — and subsequently, discarding — food, clothing, electronics and other creature comforts to which we’ve grown accustomed generates greenhouse emissions such as CO2.
This in turn causes the planet to heat up, and the effects of climate change are clearly palpable: extreme weather events that threaten our safety and livelihoods, natural habitat loss that impacts biodiversity and increases our risk of disease outbreaks, and disrupted agricultural ecosystems that affect our food supply.
Global warming is, to varying degrees, felt by us all, and the urgent need for a solution to counter this existential problem is indisputable. Yet, many inevitably wonder: What difference can one person make?
The question nagged at Varden and Jodie, spurring them to start their own sustainability-led social enterprises. The former joined two friends to start Moonbeam, which turns food waste such as coffee grounds and spent grains (a by-product of beer production) into edible products including granola and cookies.
“We want to challenge people to rethink what is food waste,” says Varden.
Varden Toh with one of Moonbeam's edible products made from food waste.
Varden Toh with one of Moonbeam's edible products made from food waste.
Food valourisation, which is the process of turning food waste into useful products, is also Jodie’s focus. Her start-up, Ferticlay upcycles eggshells, coffee grounds, peanut shells and newspapers into clay, which is then transformed into handicrafts.
Jodie Monterio of Ferticlay works with food waste to craft clay products.
Jodie Monterio of Ferticlay works with food waste to craft clay products.
“Not only does it make the waste situation even harder to tackle by dampening our waste disposal and sorting systems, it also endangers our natural habitats and biodiversity,” says Jodie of the discarding of food waste.
In an ideal scenario, entrepreneurs such as Varden and Jodie — who have reimagined a more sustainable lifestyle through innovative ideas — would be able to instantly set the wheels in motion.
In reality, however, challenges such as a lack of resources hindered their first steps, thereby limiting their environmental impact. Jodie, for instance, initially couldn’t find a space for her venture, even though she had funding.
“Most venues prefer software start-ups because they can scale up quickly. But we can’t because it takes longer to do our research,” explains Jodie.
Varden, on the other hand, needed to bolster his expertise. He sought partners to expand his supply network, but wasn’t sure how to seek connections.
Then, the entrepreneurs caught wind of Vidacity, a new agritech and sustainability hub located in a former primary school in the heartlands that welcomes start-ups working towards a more sustainable future. It offers subsidised rental as well as a slate of programmes connecting start-ups with the public.
They leapt at the opportunity to join the fledgling community of like-minded Singaporean changemakers.
Moonbeam sells cookies made from spent grains.
Moonbeam sells cookies made from spent grains.
Jodie demonstrates how clay is filtered from earth collected from construction sites and other places around Singapore.
Jodie demonstrates how clay is filtered from earth collected from construction sites and other places around Singapore.
A Test-bed for Sustainable Ideas
Launched in May 2024 by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Vidacity is building an ecosystem where stakeholders including education and research agencies, as well as start-ups can come together to create collective impact, while also introducing the public to solutions for a more sustainable way of life. It supports ground-up initiatives in the circular economy, decarbonisation and biodiversity spaces, helping them build partnerships to scale their work. Being surrounded by HDB flats in Pasir Ris lends well to the development’s purpose as a community hub for residents to learn and engage their neighbours.
The development is the brainchild of Zac Toh, who is behind urban farming social enterprise City Sprouts. He came up with the idea after attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2022 (COP 27), which left him wondering why SMEs, start-ups and the community were often left on the sidelines in global efforts to address the planet’s most pressing challenges.
“After COP-27, it became clear that global sustainability challenges require collaborative solutions,” he explains. Recognising the limited number of sustainability start-ups in Singapore, and given the traction he saw at City Sprouts, he decided to take a stand.
According to Zac, who himself is a young entrepreneur, Singapore start-ups in the sustainability sphere struggle to find their place in a developing market that may not be ready for their innovations.
Zac believes that Vidacity can equip innovators to drive meaningful impact for the environment. “It's about taking a leap of faith — recognising when the time is right to pursue that calling, to turn a dream into reality.”
Vidacity’s efforts to save the planet are aligned with the Singapore Green Plan 2030, a nationwide push for sustainability that includes concrete goals such as planting more trees; increasing the use of solar energy; reducing waste sent to landfills and reducing water consumption.
Just like the national initiative, it aims to rally ordinary Singaporeans as well as stakeholders from various sectors around solutions that address climate change. What if we could reimagine a more sustainable future — one where people live more consciously, and communities thrive in ecosystems that are rich in biodiversity without harming them?
Engaging the Community
While many Singaporeans harbour a desire to effect positive change for the environment, they may lack the knowledge to take meaningful action.
Vidacity equips individuals with practical tools to live more sustainably, through its slate of educational workshops, urban farming initiatives and farmers markets. Among these initiatives are regular electrical repair workshops hosted by tenant EDR2, a community group focused on electronic waste (e-waste) reduction.
E-waste can contain valuable materials which may not be fully extracted by recyclers. The improper processing of e-waste also adds to carbon emissions, and in some cases, produces hazardous substances that damage the environment and affect public health.
Participants for one such workshop were new to the idea of changing a three-pin plug and using a soldering kit, but found it immensely useful. One of them, who wanted to be known as Ming, discovered that fixing household items was easier than he had imagined — opening the possibility to a more eco-friendly and economical lifestyle.
This is music to EDR2’s founders’ ears. As part of their overarching aim to battle overconsumerism, they are seeking to build a community of tinkerers. Home appliances and computer equipment are discarded — often unnecessarily — adding to the 60 million kg of electrical and electronic waste that Singapore generates each year. This is why Danny Lim, EDR2’s co-founder, looks forward to organising more workshops, with Vidacity as its first permanent space.
For EDR2 volunteer Tang Swee Seng, tinkering is not just a hobby, but also a passion with purpose. “We hope to give people the basic skills to do their own repairs. We don’t have to change the world, we just have to do our part.”
Young ones try a spot of drilling at an EDR2 open-day event.
Young ones try a spot of drilling at an EDR2 open-day event.
No one’s too young for a little DIY repair: A family learns how to change electrical plugs, with help from an EDR2 volunteer.
No one’s too young for a little DIY repair: A family learns how to change electrical plugs, with help from an EDR2 volunteer.
EDR2 co-founder Danny Lim inspects participants' soldering work at a workshop held at Vidacity.
EDR2 co-founder Danny Lim inspects participants' soldering work at a workshop held at Vidacity.
Being sited in the heartlands is beneficial to Vidacity’s stable of start-ups, as it is to the wider community.
For instance, Soil Social — which produces premium microbiologically diverse compost — collects a variety of food scraps from neighbouring fruit and vegetable stall owners and residents.
Composting helps to turn food waste into fertilisers, effectively returning it to the earth. Besides helping farms in Singapore and the region to improve their farming practices and yields, Soil Social has a mission: To get the public to turn food waste into compost, which they can then supply to local farmers. This will, in turn, boost Singapore’s national ambition to produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030, one of the important features of the nation’s Green Plan 2030.
Soil Social’s Ang Ee Peng filters compost for use for different types of plants.
Soil Social’s Ang Ee Peng filters compost for use for different types of plants.
Soil Social’s Ang Ee Peng wants to grow Singapore's community of composters.
Soil Social’s Ang Ee Peng wants to grow Singapore's community of composters.
At Vidacity's Carbon Gallery, visitors find out more about carbon emissions and how they can help to lower them.
At Vidacity's Carbon Gallery, visitors find out more about carbon emissions and how they can help to lower them.
Collaboration for the Win
Vidacity has been a game-changer for the ground-up sustainability scene, not least for its accessibility. As a start-up hub, it allows young entrepreneurs such as Jodie and Varden to form fruitful partnerships within a supportive ecosystem.
In July, she co-organised a workshop with Soil Social for university students, showing them how food waste can be transformed into clay and compost. Such collaboration can expand her repertoire of food waste to experiment with, giving her a deeper understanding of the science behind food valourisation. Looking ahead, she hopes to tap on EDR2’s expertise in 3D printing to scale up her production of clay artworks.
Ferticlay is experimenting with laser printing to produce clay works.
Ferticlay is experimenting with laser printing to produce clay works.
Varden, meanwhile, attended a workshop jointly organised by Republic Polytechnic’s agri-food incubation programme at Vidacity. This helped him break out of his silo to network with experts and counterparts in gaining insights on how to maximise his impact on the sustainability front.
“As an individual, you feel helpless. But when you get together, you can achieve something,” shares Varden.
At a workshop for university students, participants have fun using the clay made from clay and food waste. Such workshops help Ferticlay raises awareness of sustainability issues.
At a workshop for university students, participants have fun using the clay made from clay and food waste. Such workshops help Ferticlay raises awareness of sustainability issues.
An entrepreneurial workshop at Vidacity draws participants under the Republic Polytechnic’s Agri-Food Tech Incubation Programme.
An entrepreneurial workshop at Vidacity draws participants under the Republic Polytechnic’s Agri-Food Tech Incubation Programme.
Powering Cutting-edge Research
Widely regarded as an innovation hub, Singapore is a key contributor in the fight against climate change. You need look no further than Vidacity to see this materialising. The development is a testbed for research projects by academic institutions.
The Nanyang Technological University-led Project Shea, for instance, explores low-carbon methods in clean energy generation and waste management systems that can be used in future smart cities.
Another project by the National University of Singapore and Temasek Foundation cultivates mangrove labs as part of efforts to decarbonise and nurture greater biodiversity.
While still in their early stages, the programmes — both high-tech and nature-based — are poised to reinforce Singapore’s holistic approach towards tackling global warming.
Moving the Needle Together
In its drive to power a sustainability movement, Vidacity has welcomed 10 start-ups to its fold, with more gearing up to move in. It also hopes to galvanise more Singaporeans to start their own environmentally-skewed initiatives.
To that end, it offers a lively roster of events for the public, including the Forest Festival that drew curious participants in August. Here, individuals learnt about environmental threats and how to tackle them, as well as got acquainted with sustainable start-ups and ideas like Ferticlay, which ran workshops on repurposing food waste into clay.
One participant could be heard remarking to her husband: “Very interesting! I didn’t know food waste could be turned into clay, next time we shouldn’t discard food so quickly!”
Vidacity’s founder and tenants continue to beaver away at their goals, united by their vision of engendering positive change for the environment. They’re convinced that events such as the Forest Festival, which brought in over 800 people, can help to shift societal mindsets and spark a groundswell of support in saving the planet.
The success of such events, thanks in part to the fact that Vidacity is embedded within the community as a heartland hub, can drive greater momentum in the green movement, where anyone off the street, can walk in with curiosity, and leave with knowledge and empowerment.
Jodie believes that everyone needs to play their part for Singapore to advance the goals under its Green Plan — whether by recycling waste or reducing their consumption.
“The changes must come from our own interests and value of the environment. Then we will be more willing to change our lifestyle.”
Zac echoes her sentiments. “We need people from the community to drive change, because ultimately, a fundamental behavioural change is needed. Sustainability is an issue that requires everyone’s efforts.”
Credits
Writer, Photographer & Content Designer / Leslie Koh
Producer / Cara Yap
Executive Producer / Chris Annadorai
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