One Of A Kind

The last time we met was four years ago—what have you been up to since then?
After my ‘O’ Level exams, I secured an internship in Finland by helping Jaakko Iisalo, the founder of Angry Birds, launch his new game in Singapore. During my internship, I worked on a game that taught kids about particles in physics, and I also had the chance to speak to some schools, which led to me heading to Finland for an exchange program in 2018. I moved back here last year because of the Covid-19 situation, and it’s been a blessing in disguise: I miss the lifestyle here at One Kind House, and it gave me the chance to work on One Kind Block.

Tell us more about One Kind Block!
We launched One Kind Block during the Circuit Breaker in 2020, but it’s a project that’s been four years in the making. We realised cities needed to be more sustainable and Covid-19 helped us see the issue of food disruption, especially for a country like Singapore that imports 95% of its food. 

It’s a modular hydroponic system that’s can adapt to any apartment, which is perfect for HDBs. You can place it wherever there’s sunlight, and based on your configuration, you can grow nearly 180kg of vegetables a year. Accordingly to our calculations, 3kg is enough to feed a family of two comfortably for five days. 

It’s a system that brings us one step closer to food sustainability and independence. Currently, there are a lot of top-down approaches to solve food sustainability, but it’s important to have bottom-up solutions too. 

As a young person, what are you the most worried about?
The future is very bleak. We are growing up amidst a culture of un-sustainability and the cost of decades of capitalism, and to fight that is difficult. All I can do is to solve issues that I can, like the One Kind Block that encourages sustainability in a personal capacity. 

If you could change something about the education system in Singapore, what would it be?
I’d overhaul the entire system. It’s been based on the needs of the economy, like putting a limit on the number of lawyers and engineers accordingly to make it exclusive, while arts is valued the least. This works for an industrial age, but as the future and behaviours change, it’s becoming outdated. What needs to happen is a mindset shift and addressing the tuition industry that’s worth 1.5 billion. 

For example, in Finland, a third of the school curriculum is dedicated to the arts, like design and technology, sewing, guitar playing. The projects you do are also not disconnected from the arts. 

Who would you say is your role model in life?
I admire certain elements of many people. My father made the best out of his situation and was brave enough to let his children live the way they want. He’s sent me on a wonderful journey. I admire George Carlin, an American comedian, who was philosophical in his approach. I hope I become someone in the future that I can look up to, with the goal of accomplishing everything I wanted to do before I die.

One Kind Block is currently seeking funding—support their campaign by heading to the link here.  You can also view our previous Made By Shentonistas video featuring the One Kind Block here, and read more about Dylan and his family here.