OUR SPECIALTY

‘Xin’ is an organic, healthy choice of candy with no artificial colouring or flavouring. Each of the heart-shaped candy also comes in an environmentally friendly packaging. Each pack of 18 sells for sgd$3 and an one kilogram pack costs SGD $48. Bulk orders are welcomed.

THE INNOVATION

‘Xin’ was created as a means to provide work opportunities for socially disadvantaged people as well as to bring a healthier choice of candy to the market.

The production of the candy such as packing and selling the sweets provides work opportunities for the socially disadvantaged such as single mothers and the physically disabled. The ‘Xin’ team works with special needs groups such as the Simei Care Centre, to pack ‘Xin’ candies. Profits are invested back to the social enterprise and/or used for activities and financial funding.

Since lack of work opportunities is the one greatest challenge posed for the socially disadvantaged, purchasing the candy is one way to help them through empowering them economically rather than giving one-off donations. The ‘Xin’ team also hopes to persuade elderly who sell packs of tissue paper in hawker centres to sell the candy too. This way, it earns the elderly an income, helps the disadvantaged and saves the environment all at the same time.

BRIEF BACKGROUND

Ground Up Initiative is a group of young people who want to make a difference to the world they live it. They started out as a flood relief team to Malaysia and never stopped since then. Other than producing Xin candy, the group has since focused on a weekly farming activity aptly named Balik Kampung at Kranji to reconnect youths to earth – understand the value and importance of preserving our environment – through working on it. The latest addition to the group’s activities, in April 2009, is the Sustainable Urban Farms (SURF), an initiative to bring educate and empower city dwellers to for community gardens starting at Bottle Tree Park.

Action

Find out more about how you can get involved in Ground Up Initiative’s Balik Kampung and SURF programmes.