“Patience in the process of cultivating and brewing our own herbal remedies can achieve great benefits for our health – more than we know.”

-Uncle Tan

Translation

Today, Singapore is a country where land is very scarce and precious. I contributed to society by travelling to different residential areas to encourage their residents to start growing herbs [in community gardens]. The herbs provide various health benefits and contribute to an environmentally greener city.

In addition, I educated residents on herb knowledge and remedies. This enabled natural herbs to become a part of people’s lives and welcomed youths to learn more about herb heritage and its uses. Herbs can benefit our lives more than we think! I hope that the use of traditional herbs will be passed down from one generation to the next.

I have been to various countries to observe and exchange knowledge and practices. Also, I came to understand that Singapore’s climate, soil, etc. are advantageous for planting and have low environmental contaminants. It is a pity that only a few have such knowledge and are willing to raise awareness, teach, and share about traditional herbs. I have been silently fulfilling my duty. Now, I hope to intrigue the minds of the larger community to take an interest in understanding herbs and use this knowledge to serve others.

In recent years, I received support and sponsors from kind-hearted individuals and volunteers. They allowed me to contribute to our herb culture [in Singapore] without much worries, and I am very grateful to them.

As an individual, I did not participate in any organisational activities. [Yet, I have received strong support from sponsors from all walks of life]. My sponsors are community residents from various backgrounds - working professionals, homemakers, security guards, and student volunteers. Here, I would like to thank them for their selfless contributions and support, and I hope to continue working with them.

Lastly, I am very thankful for the support given by the residential committee of Zone “2”, who allowed me to focus on managing this verdant herb garden. Thank you.

When Xiang Yun and I (Yong En) arrived at the garden, we realised that the herb garden had few people present. As you might have imagined, there were no youths in sight. As youths, we have not heard of this herb garden within the resort and the precious herb knowledge shared by Uncle Tan prior to our visit. It was a joy to witness Uncle Tan working passionately in the herb field with the aim to pass on the legacy of our herb heritage. He told us how he overcame the hardships and obstacles when he was trying to build the herb garden. At the same time, we share Uncle Tan’s apprehension as few youths are actively preserving our herb heritage; we are concerned for the continuity of herb traditions in Singapore. 

The process of growing and tending to herbs has many benefits – one of which is to foster a sense of community, just like how Uncle Tan’s mother brewed herbs for the sick in her local community. Following in his mother’s footsteps, Uncle Tan would also brew herbal tea and share herbal remedies with all. This traditional knowledge about herbs is part of our heritage and brings us closer to our cultural roots. The practice of utilising herbs to cure illnesses which has been passed down from many generations will be fast forgotten if few are interested in exploring and expanding our herb knowledge. Hence, we encourage everyone to visit Uncle Tan's lovely herb garden to prevent this knowledge about herbs from becoming a lost heritage.