Climate & Eco-Sustainability
Climate & Eco-Sustainability
Ongoing projects starting in AY26/27
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Bin There, Done That
Bin There, Done That
Sabahlings
On Larapan Island in Semporna, Sabah, residents live beside waters rich in marine biodiversity. However, plastic waste continues to accumulate along the shoreline and around homes. Additionally, households lack a waste separation system - an initial programme which attempted to kickstart a proper waste segregation system amongst households achieved a suboptimal compliance rate. Current collection relies on externally funded collectors, while visible waste threatens tourism, an emerging income source. The community hopes to build a self-funded, community-owned waste management system. To address this, our project is partnering with the Larapan Marine Conservation Group, the village committee (JKKK), Reef Check Malaysia and (potentially) the local secondary school. We plan to pilot recycling and general-waste bins with the households, conduct at least 2 upcycling workshops for adults to turn waste into furniture and merchandise for sale, and run gamified waste education workshops for students. We will also be training youth leaders to continue such programmes independently, to ensure the longevity of our efforts. We hope to achieve success above the earlier programme's rate, reduce waste discarded into the sea, and generate additional income for the community. We also hope the project will empower Larapan's youth and strengthen the community's ownership of its environment and livelihoods.Sabahlings
Project Country: Malaysia
Project Supervisor: Dr Ng Keng Khoon
Group Ref: 26ADKK02R
Project Bamboobon
Project Bamboobon
Bamboobon
Project Bamboobon is built around a simple question: how can one local resource create both livelihoods and stronger communities? In Ubon Ratchathani, a province in thailand, bamboo offers that possibility. The project responds to limited rural income opportunities and the continued environmental costs of slash-and-burn agriculture by making bamboo more economically useful and deeply embedded in community life. At its centre is the Bamboo Learning Centre, where bamboo can be treated, skills can be shared and people can learn by making. Bamboobon’s first pillar is income generation. By increasing the supply and use of treated bamboo, supporting furniture, handicrafts and other bamboo products, the project aims to expand the local bamboo market and create additional income for farmers, artisans, laborers and small enterprises. Its second pillar is community development. Through educational workshops, university fairs, creative hands-on programmes with schools, the BLC can bring farmers, artisans, and the youth together. The aim is not only to raise awareness of bamboo’s environmental and economic value, but also to keep local knowledge and craftsmanship active across generations. Together, these efforts seek to establish a community-led bamboo ecosystem in which economic opportunity, environmental responsibility and local capability can grow together and endure.Bamboobon
Project Country: Thailand
Project Supervisor: A/P Peter Vail
Group Ref: 26CCPV04R
Project To Be Conserved
Project To Be Conserved
Project To Be Conserved
In Laos, home to endangered species like the Assamese Macaque and Malayan Sun Bear, the illegal wildlife trade thrives amid fragmented biodiversity education and a growing normalisation of the trade both online and offline. Villages report significant hunting and selling history, while urban markets in Vientiane openly sell wildlife-derived products. Our project addresses this gap through a three-pronged education initiative, partnering with the Lao Conservation Trust for Wildlife (LCTW). We will deliver a nine-month Primary School General Education Curriculum for Grade 5 students near Phou Khao Khouay, run a four-day Youth Empowerment Workshop in Vientiane for 25 secondary-aged youths, and co-create bilingual English storybooks about wildlife with Lingobee for Phakhao Primary School. We hope to build a continuous conservation education pathway for both rural and urban Laotian youth, cultivating lasting empathy for wildlife and helping to break the cycle of normalisation that has allowed the wildlife trade to persist.Project To Be Conserved
Project Country: Laos
Project Supervisor: A/P Louis Ng
Group Ref: 26STLN05R
Project Hiraya
Project Hiraya
Team Hiraya
In flood-prone informal settlements in Metro Manila, Philippines, families face repeated destruction from an average of 20 typhoons a year, compounded by insecure housing and unstable incomes that trap them in unsafe, disaster-vulnerable homes. Bamboo, though abundant and structurally proven, remains underused due to lingering stigma as "poor man's timber." Our project, Team Hiraya, partners with Lingap Gabriela, a women-led disaster relief organisation, and Kawayan Collective, bamboo construction experts, to reposition bamboo as a resilient, dignified resource for disaster preparedness. We propose three initiatives: bamboo weaving workshops that build fundraising skills and livelihoods for local women, sustainable bamboo Go Bags to replace single-use plastic emergency kits, and a floatable bamboo ladder that converts into a life-saving walkway during floods. Alongside this, our creative practice uses participatory bamboo raft-making and an interactive projected stress-simulation model to help communities explore bamboo's strength and cultural meaning firsthand. We aim to train and engage women across multiple weaving workshops, pilot an initial batch of 30–50 Bamboo Go Bags, and develop a tested floatable ladder prototype. Ultimately, we hope to reduce reliance on plastic and external aid, generate fair-wage income for local artisans, and help communities see bamboo not as a marker of poverty, but as a source of resilience and pride.Team Hiraya
Project Country: Philippines
Project Supervisor: Dr Julius Bautista
Group Ref: 26STJB01R
Project AfterFood
Project AfterFood
Project AfterFood
AfterFood is a partnership between NUS College (NUSC) and MoNo.SG (MoNo), a social enterprise focused on sustainability and food security. MoNo is especially concerned with preventing the wastage of near-expiry or just-expired food that is still safe to consume. Our work with MoNo takes root in a previous IEx project, which had worked with MoNo to set up shelves selling low-cost near-expiry snacks at NUSC common areas. Our aim, over the course of our project duration, is to sustain these shelves at NUSC, while also expanding to other residential colleges (RCs). We also aim to set up pop-up stalls at University Town, and at nearby community centers.Project AfterFood
Project Country: Singapore
Project Supervisor: Dr Michelle Lee
Group Ref: 26STML03
Catch-and-Cook
Catch-and-Cook
Hammock & Hook
On Koh Trong, an island in Cambodia’s Mekong River, local homestays form an important part of the island’s community-based ecotourism economy, but have faced declining tourist numbers following COVID-19 and the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict. At the same time, the island has rich but underutilised assets, including fishing ponds, local fishing knowledge, vegetable farms and existing Khmer cooking classes. To address these challenges, Catch-and-Cook is partnering with local homestay owners to develop a community-led experiential tourism programme that brings these assets together. Tourists will be able to choose between a two-hour fishing experience (US$10) and a four-hour experience (US$40) where they catch fish, harvest local produce and learn to prepare Khmer dishes alongside homestay owners. We will first pilot Catch-and-Cook at Homestay 7 in January 2027, before evaluating its impact and potentially expanding it to other homestays. Through tourist numbers, duration of stay, package uptake, profits and tourist and homestay-owner feedback, we will assess the programme’s impact. Ultimately, we hope Catch-and-Cook will increase tourism spending and provide additional income opportunities for homestay owners, while creating meaningful cultural exchanges and empowering the community to independently sustain the programme in the long term.Hammock & Hook
Project Country: Cambodia
Project Supervisor: Dr Shaun Lin
Group Ref: 26STSL02R
Koh Koh Krunch
Koh Koh Krunch
Trong Trails
On Koh Trong Island in Kratie, Cambodia, visitors already encounter homestays, cycling routes, farms, pomelo products, cultural sites, and local food experiences. However, information about these ecotourism assets remains fragmented across physical maps, informal conversations, signboards, and separate online platforms, making it harder for tourists to discover and understand the island meaningfully. To address this, our project, Trong Trails, will work with Koh Trong homestay owners and local stakeholders to develop a mobile-compatible website that consolidates partner-approved ecotourism information into a clearer digital trail. The website will include an interactive map, clockwise and anticlockwise route options, checkpoint descriptions, short videos, English/Khmer information, optional photo submissions, and anonymous digital check-ins. We aim to verify and feature around [insert number] checkpoints, including homestays, farms, cultural sites, fishing/cooking activities, rental points, and pomelo-related locations. The project hopes to benefit local tourism stakeholders by increasing the visibility of existing community assets, while helping tourists navigate Koh Trong with greater confidence and understanding. Quantitatively, impact will be measured through website views, checkpoint check-ins, trail completions, and user feedback. Qualitatively, we hope the project will strengthen appreciation for Koh Trong’s local knowledge, livelihoods, and community-approved ecotourism identity. (191 Words) Trong Trails
Project Country: Cambodia
Project Supervisor: Dr Shaun Lin
Group Ref: 26STSL01R
Mangrowth
Mangrowth
Mangrowth
Desa Budeng is a village on Bali's western coast, surrounded by a lush mangrove forest with over 30 species. The farming collective KTH Wana Merta has built a culture of conservation in Desa Budeng, but they are looking for ways to raise more funds for spreading awareness on the importance of mangrove conservation nationwide. They hope for sustainable eco-tourism that creates jobs, but struggle with the distance from tourist centre Denpasar. Partnering with Sea Communities and KTH Wana Merta, Mangrowth will refine and publicise the community's offerings — mangrove forest tours, camping trips and mangrove *krupuk* workshops — while building Desa Budeng's ability to run them independently. We plan to co-develop English presentation scripts and communication skills, social media and website infrastructure, and a documentary recording their efforts nurturing the forest. By constantly communicating with community leaders, we will measure success through locally retained tourism income, jobs created, visitor learning gains and mangrove condition instead of tourist volume alone. We strive for Desa Budeng to be a site of eco-tourism inspiration, with young and old alike involved in the conservation of vital mangroves.Mangrowth
Project Country: Indonesia
Project Supervisor: Ms Sam Shu Qin
Group Ref: 26STSQ03R
Lombok All-Stars
Lombok All-Stars
Lombok All-Stars
Gili Lime is a group of five islands that is the basis of many local livelihoods through farming, fishing and most importantly, tourism. Tourism has increased over the years, and locals hope for even more tourism on the islands. Yet, they also fear the environmental impacts tourism may bring. To address this, our team intends to create a dive safety card, dive site map, and a biodiversity web database. The dive safety card and map encourages dive practices safe for both tourists and the environment, which increases tourists’ trust in local dive guides and hopefully translates to higher tourism, all while reducing the environmental impact of this tourist activity. The biodiversity database is intended to document the local biodiversity, such that the biodiversity displayed can attract tourists, while the raw data provides a basis for further environmental protection status for the area. We will work closely with the local dive guides, fishermen, shop owners, and our community partners JARI and WMC, in the creation of these materials and in eventually handing off these materials to our community partners, such that they can continue to benefit this community for a long time.Lombok All-Stars
Project Country: Indonesia
Project Supervisor: Ms Sam Shu Qin
Group Ref: 26STSQ02R
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