Explore the Be.Spirit Vibe
We are Project Masaya 2019, a group of 20 students from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Department of Architecture and Industrial Design. The project is in collaboration with Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation (GK), a non-profit organization seeking to alleviate poverty in the Philippines. We will be working with GK Arceo Village, which consists of 40 families, located in Batangas, The Philippines.
Project Masaya 2018
Project Masaya started in the summer of 2018, where a group of 21 students from the Department of Architecture constructed a playground within the village. The playground created a play space that not only engaged the children in creative abstract play but allowed for a community space where all members of the community may gather around, socialize, and bond. The playground was identified as a construction opportunity from a participatory design workshop held the year before.
At the same time, we conducted a participatory design workshop, seeking to identify a social enterprise to support the livelihood of the beneficiaries. Through active feedback sessions, we manage to identify the needs and aspirations of the community – a baking enterprise.
The baking enterprise stands from the aspiration of village housewives to contribute financially to their household. Apart from daily household chores and the caretaking of their children, they often found themselves idle and unfulfilled.
