E - JOURNAL
This module will enable architecture students to the real community and work together as a team for architectural, environmental and cultural enhancing activities in the communities of different social economic status and groups. The community activity that we chose is a community garden at Kebun Kebun Bangsar. The objective is to interact with the community, get to know them and learn from them as much as we can. We would need to come every week if possible to help out with the garden so that everything that we learn will be put in an urban guideline. This guideline that we are supposed to produce is for future communities that want to start a community garden. There are different format of the guidelines ( brochure, website and video) and the one that we got is a website.
GALLERY OF KEBUN KEBUN BANGSAR - Memories captured in photographs.
INTERACTING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND HELPING OUT!
What did I do at Kebun Kebun Bangsar? During these 10 weeks of CSI, we would come on Sunday or during any of our free day during the week to be able to gain experience. We need to interact with the community there in order to understand the needs of a community garden and how it works in real life. In order to understand what community garden is, we need to experience it ourselves!
So when we come to Kebun Kebun Bangsar, we will take the initiative to talk to the caretakers there, to the volunteers and basically anyone who is also there helping out. When we talk with them, we would learn different things about plants, about taking care of the big kebun and about why they come here.
We noticed that there were also many volunteers from companies or from any regular people that wanted to help out. I realized that it does not matter who you are when you are here. Everyone is equal and everyone is helping each other out.
Things that I was involved in was the maze plantation where we delivered the "bunga raya" up to the hill for planting. I was also involved in propagating one of the plants that I soon learned the plants name, Mexican Petunia. I never knew that we can replant a plant just by plucking them, breaking them in half, removing the leaves and planting them back in the soil. It amazes me how plants can just regrow.
Other activites that I was involved in picking up soil and putting them on the rainy and wet ground. For this, I experienced using a shovel! One of the last activity that I was involved in is the fundraising event for KKB at Rex KL. Our task was to find which plants to sell, find out their local names, discuss with the caretakers, discuss the price and sent it off to Rex KL to be sold off. This was the moment when we had to ask almost everyone that was available on that day for the local names of the plants because we had no idea what there were. Even though we used this app that identify plants by photos, it would only give us the latin and scientific names. And no one would understand that if we were to use those names. We even asked our parents for clarification!
Then when it comes to the day of exhbiting our hard work, we were proud that there were actually people interested in buying!
So when we come to Kebun Kebun Bangsar, we will take the initiative to talk to the caretakers there, to the volunteers and basically anyone who is also there helping out. When we talk with them, we would learn different things about plants, about taking care of the big kebun and about why they come here.
We noticed that there were also many volunteers from companies or from any regular people that wanted to help out. I realized that it does not matter who you are when you are here. Everyone is equal and everyone is helping each other out.
Things that I was involved in was the maze plantation where we delivered the "bunga raya" up to the hill for planting. I was also involved in propagating one of the plants that I soon learned the plants name, Mexican Petunia. I never knew that we can replant a plant just by plucking them, breaking them in half, removing the leaves and planting them back in the soil. It amazes me how plants can just regrow.
Other activites that I was involved in picking up soil and putting them on the rainy and wet ground. For this, I experienced using a shovel! One of the last activity that I was involved in is the fundraising event for KKB at Rex KL. Our task was to find which plants to sell, find out their local names, discuss with the caretakers, discuss the price and sent it off to Rex KL to be sold off. This was the moment when we had to ask almost everyone that was available on that day for the local names of the plants because we had no idea what there were. Even though we used this app that identify plants by photos, it would only give us the latin and scientific names. And no one would understand that if we were to use those names. We even asked our parents for clarification!
Then when it comes to the day of exhbiting our hard work, we were proud that there were actually people interested in buying!
THE FINAL OUTCOME!
The final outcome of the project is our urban guideline in the
form of a website and a video.
form of a website and a video.
Website:
Our website focuses on mainly on how to plant certain plants, based on the plants that we had found at Kebun Kebun Bangsar. The guidelines include a brief description on the plant, a photo of it, how to grow and how to take care. There are a brief description on the importance of community garden. In the website, there are various videos that can introduce new community to what a community garden is and how to plant certain things. We hoped that any future community that goes through this website, will be able to gained as much knowledge!
Below is a sneak peak of how the website looks like, click on the link to go to the website!
https://pasteapp.com/p/cpG7sK9jz8o
Video:
In this video, we showed the life of Kebun Kebun Bangsar, and what happens when communities get together to help out! It includes the things that we learn from lecturers, caretakers, landscape architects and even volunteers! Overall, this video is a compilation of what had happened during our involvement in Kebun Kebun Bangsar! It's a whole lot of fun, I tell you!
Click play to watch! Enjoy:)
Click play to watch! Enjoy:)
OVERALL REFLECTION
During these 10 weeks, I learned so many things that I wouldn't have expected to learn. I love nature but I never took the initiative to do anything about it or to learn more about it since I thought that it would not relate to architecture. But, I was wrong. Being a part of this community garden had opened my eyes more about the environment and about the people interacting in the environment.
I had never seen such a big happy community, gathering together to achieve a common goal. I had never seen children helping out their parents and having so much fun plucking flowers and planting flowers. It was something that I rarely see in this generation, or is it because I rarely go out to see such wonderful scene? I wish that I could have gone to a place like this earlier because I have been meaning to get away from the city and just spend some time in nature.
Basically, this project made me take the initiative to start a conservation with the community there. Whether it be the caretakers, the volunteers or anyone that are there to help out. I am a very shy person when it comes to talking to strangers, but when it is something that I need to find out or to investigate, I would have to set aside that shyness of me and force myself to talk to people. And when I do start to talk to them, I forgot all about the anxiety or nervousness and just keep on talking. So going to Kebun Kebun Bangsar had made me more confident in myself to talk to people.
During the 10 weeks, I learned a lot about plants specifically, and their names. I learned the local names and also how to take care of them. I learned about Neem, Mexican Petunia, Belalai Gajah, Balung Ayam, Blue Pea, Creeping Fig, Papaya Trees, Mexican Marigold and many more!
From observing that Architect Ng Sek San being there almost every time I was there, makes me realise that architects need to be involve in these community works and the environment, in order to understand that they are making buildings or spaces for the people and for the environment. I should also learn from that and not stay at home doing my assignment while I should go out and experience it for myself. Interacting with the people, getting to know the environment and how to take care of it can really benefits future designers to how they will design buildings in the future.
I have a big passion for nature and I think Kebun Kebun Bangsar grew that passion a whole lot more!
I want to thank KKB for making these few months a memorable time for me to grow as a person and I am willing to come again and help out. I also want to thank them for teaching me new things about plants and about garden that I would have never imagined to learn about. And I want to thank my team for being very cooperative and making the whole time so much fun. Without them, it wouldn't be the same. Lastly, I want to thank Ms. Sze for being so patient and kind to us all the time. For always supporting us and being positive throughout!
I had never seen such a big happy community, gathering together to achieve a common goal. I had never seen children helping out their parents and having so much fun plucking flowers and planting flowers. It was something that I rarely see in this generation, or is it because I rarely go out to see such wonderful scene? I wish that I could have gone to a place like this earlier because I have been meaning to get away from the city and just spend some time in nature.
Basically, this project made me take the initiative to start a conservation with the community there. Whether it be the caretakers, the volunteers or anyone that are there to help out. I am a very shy person when it comes to talking to strangers, but when it is something that I need to find out or to investigate, I would have to set aside that shyness of me and force myself to talk to people. And when I do start to talk to them, I forgot all about the anxiety or nervousness and just keep on talking. So going to Kebun Kebun Bangsar had made me more confident in myself to talk to people.
During the 10 weeks, I learned a lot about plants specifically, and their names. I learned the local names and also how to take care of them. I learned about Neem, Mexican Petunia, Belalai Gajah, Balung Ayam, Blue Pea, Creeping Fig, Papaya Trees, Mexican Marigold and many more!
From observing that Architect Ng Sek San being there almost every time I was there, makes me realise that architects need to be involve in these community works and the environment, in order to understand that they are making buildings or spaces for the people and for the environment. I should also learn from that and not stay at home doing my assignment while I should go out and experience it for myself. Interacting with the people, getting to know the environment and how to take care of it can really benefits future designers to how they will design buildings in the future.
I have a big passion for nature and I think Kebun Kebun Bangsar grew that passion a whole lot more!
I want to thank KKB for making these few months a memorable time for me to grow as a person and I am willing to come again and help out. I also want to thank them for teaching me new things about plants and about garden that I would have never imagined to learn about. And I want to thank my team for being very cooperative and making the whole time so much fun. Without them, it wouldn't be the same. Lastly, I want to thank Ms. Sze for being so patient and kind to us all the time. For always supporting us and being positive throughout!