What Matters To Me: Bjorn Low, Co-Founder And Executive Director Of Edible Garden City

The social entrepreneur is creating greater social impact through urban farming

In the What Matters To Me series, a Generation T honouree describes what they do, why they do it, and why it matters

Bjorn Low is helping Singapore reduce its reliance on imported vegetables, herbs and flowers through his eight-year-old social enterprise, Edible Garden City.

An example of his work is to design and build food gardens, which he has done for more than 200 local hotels, restaurants and schools. Edible Garden City also runs a farm where it grows its own fresh produce in a sustainable manner—instead of tossing out the agricultural by-products, it turns them into fertiliser for crops.

At the same time, Low also nurtures the socially disadvantaged, such as individuals with autism, by employing them at the farm.

Here, he shares his take on sustainability and his vision for the future of Edible Garden City.

Above Photo: Edible Garden City

During this journey as a social entrepreneur, I’ve learned that everything is impermanent. Things are constantly in flux in the sense that what may seem good today may wither and die the next, what may look bad today may blossom and bear fruit tomorrow. So I’ve learned not to take change too seriously.

Sustainability is an overused word. Terms like environmental sustainability can be seen as an oxymoron, as the environment would be better off if there weren’t industries polluting or robbing it of its resources to begin with.

My idea of sustainability is about striking a balance: to not take anything in excess, to return back what I’ve taken whenever I can, and to leave some for nature and the next generation.

- Bjorn Low -

I love nurturing things, but plants more than people. As our business grew and our team expanded, I realised I wasn’t an effective manager. It’s my personal development goal now to learn to nurture the people in our company and industry like how I care for the plants in my garden.

We are constantly trying to redefine what urban agriculture means to our city. Thus we’ve developed Urban Care farms, which let us produce vegetables while helping to improve people’s mental well-being. Our goal is for urban farms of the future to heal our body with the food we eat, heal our mind with mental wellness activities, and heal our soul by repairing our environment through regenerative agricultural practices.

See more honourees from the Environment category of the Gen.T List.

Topics

edible garden city urban farming agriculture sustainability food security

Tatler Asia

What Matters To Me: Bjorn Low, Co-Founder And Executive Director Of Edible Garden City