Connecting maids and S'poreans via food cultures

The banana is a fruit familiar to Singaporeans, being found year-round in markets and supermarkets, and in popular snacks such as pisang goreng (banana fritters) and fried banana balls.

But if you ask people from different cultures in South-east Asia about the ways they eat and use bananas, you may find that they have other stories to tell - both different and familiar.

The study of how people relate to plants and use them in their families and cultures is known as ethnobotany. It is in this field that SayurStory, a ground-up initiative, hopes to unite Singaporeans and maids through conversations and activities based around food and the natural environment.

Its founder Leong Man Wei, 22, said that she got this idea from working with her helper, with whom she has a close relationship.

"During that period, I gained an interest in gardening and started to talk about plants with my helper, which made me realise how much she knew because of her cultural heritage and experiences back home," said Ms Leong, a School of Art, Design and Media student at Nanyang Technological University.

"As many Singaporeans were turning to gardening and reconnecting with nature, along with the encouragement from Nparks, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to empower MDWs (migrant domestic workers) to share their knowledge and connect our communities."

With this in mind, the team behind SayurStory worked hard to create virtual and in-person platforms for maids to exchange their stories about plants with Singaporeans and one another.

"Garden of Homes" ethnobotany tours in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, co-created with maid guides, will let participants learn about common plants in South-east Asia through the maids' own anecdotes.

Madam Hanisha Marni Astuti, 37, a maid from Kudus, Indonesia, who is one of the ethnobotany tour guides, said: "During the tour, I share personal stories connected to my culture or beliefs that will connect us, or the people around us, to our surroundings."

SayurStory also started a community garden to provide maids with physical space and a community to exchange harvests and gardening expertise.

The four managers of the garden are from Myanmar, Indonesia and India, and were strangers before sharing the garden.

They said: "Here, we can explore other people's plots and learn from each other how to grow plants."

Ms Leong hopes that the community of SayurStory will continue to grow and invite even greater diversity.

"SayurStory is very much driven by narratives of 'us', where the women who engage with our community are those who have mustered the courage to do so. I hope SayurStory sows seeds in our society for more inclusive and expanded notions of community."