Kampung spirit is a colloquial term that best encapsulates the community spirit of being neighbourly. It conveys a sense of camaraderie and willingness to help others. And with Facebook groups popping up as a means of connection over the digital sphere, it’s almost as if that same spirit is celebrated across these communities.
In time to celebrate Singapore’s 55th birthday, here are five of the most uniquely Singaporean Facebook groups that celebrate the kampung spirit.
Durians are a polarising fruit, but in Singapore, the ones who love them, really go all out. In its peak season, there have been nearly one million mentions created about durians by people living in Singapore on Facebook. There are several groups on Facebook for people to share their reviews of durians, one of which being Durian and Friends. Durian and Friends has built up a trustworthy community of durian lovers and reviewers. And although one should always take a review with a pinch of salt, the group restricts the number of promotional posts by sellers, which means you can be assured that all reviews are genuine.
While Singapore was on the Circuit Breaker, otter sightings and updates often made its way to the news. Despite being an urban jungle, these adorable creatures have managed to thrive in our city. Bishan, Zouk, and Marina are three of the well-known otter families in Singapore. The Bishan family is the most loved and popular one and their adventures have been captured on Facebook Pages like Otter Watch, which was created ten years ago and has since evolved from a local community that consolidated and shared otter sightings to an educational resource.
Masks Sewn With Love is a community project to sew reusable cloth masks for Singapore. Each mask is sewn with love (hence the name), by community volunteers and they’re distributed to vulnerable groups in shelters, homes, cleaners, and domestic helpers, as well as vulnerable children and their families within the respective estates. This group was created just before the Circuit Breaker with a goal to sew 50,000 reusable masks for vulnerable groups. And in true Kampung spirit, they did exactly so, and to date, members have collectively sewn over 200,000 masks – a feat they managed to achieve not just due to the number of volunteers, but because members came together to help solve each other’s technical problems, share tips, and mask designs. To pay tribute to those in the frontline, the group will also be sewing themed National Day masks for them.
Since its origin in 2012, Urbam Farmers Singapore has come together to bring more awareness and interest to urban farming. Now, with technology advancement, urban farming has grown to become a tangible solution to Singapore’s self-sufficiency and interest for it has grown as well. Today, the group has over 40,000 members, who come together in this digital space to share tips and tricks on urban farming, resources and celebrate each other’s successes.
This is a place for all to wax nostalgia and share memories and experiences of Singapore before the cityscape became skyscrapers, shopping malls, and modern resorts. For heritage Facebook Group, On A Little Street on Singapore, every day is #ThrowbackThursday, with members coming together to share photos and memories from our yesteryear. It originally started as a blog, where founder, Jerome Lim, would document and share his own memories. He then set up the group so that everyone could walk down memory lane together.