CNA938 Rewind - A Letter to Myself: How Aminah Abdul Latif teaches children to find themselves in nature
CNA938 Rewind
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Aminah Abdul Latif is the co-founder of the Hundred Paths forest school, which uses immersive experiences in Singapore's natural environment to help children discover invaluable lessons about their abilities and instincts. Aminah, who spent 13 years in the early childhood education sector, shares how her own love for nature began when she was a child, and how she realised that her ability to empathise deeply with others — especially children — has become her "superpower".
CNA938 Rewind - A Letter to Myself: How Aminah Abdul Latif teaches children to find themselves in nature
Aminah Abdul Latif is the co-founder of the Hundred Paths forest school, which uses immersive experiences in Singapore's natural environment to help children discover invaluable lessons about their abilities and instincts. Aminah, who spent 13 years in the early childhood education sector, shares how her own love for nature began when she was a child, and how she realised that her ability to empathise deeply with others — especially children — has become her "superpower".
37 mins
CNA938 Rewind - A Letter to Myself: How Jason Leow helps corporate leaders be alive to their needs and wants
Jason Leow is the co-founder and CEO of The Doing Well Centre, a corporate leadership coaching consultancy that helps senior leaders "be more human without losing their edge". Jason shares how his journey of reinvention — from journalist to senior corporate leader, and now a business owner — was the result of having the ability to listen to his own needs and wants at different stages of his growth.
30 mins
CNA938 Rewind - #TalkBack: How can we attract more people back to Pulau Ubin?
Singapore could be looking to make Pulau Ubin more modern and accessible, without losing its natural charm. Lance Alexander and Daniel Martin discuss more with Dr Shawn Lum, Senior Lecturer at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Asian School of the Environment.
28 mins
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She's the designer behind Sejauh Mata Memandang, the Indonesian label leading a clean fashion movement
Every year, Jakarta's who's who flock to Jakarta Fashion Week, arguably the biggest fashion event in Southeast Asia since its debut in 2008. One night in December 2023, the A-listers seated at City Hall inside Pondok Indah Mall were surprised to see rows of banners. One banner at the front read 'Menolak Punah' (Resisting Extinction), while others displayed messages such as 'Kedaulatan Sandang #freetrade' (Clothing Sovereignty) and 'Pukul Mundur Krisis Iklim' (Push Back Against the Climate Crisis). Carrying those bold statements were renowned activists and celebrity campaigners, including Butet Manurung (Sokola Rimba), Isabel Wijsen (Bye Bye Plastic Bags), and Andhyta F Utami (Think Policy Society). Safe to say, it's not every day that influential figures find themselves the audience of a protest – let alone as part of a fashion show. 'We kept it a secret, even from the organiser!' Chitra Subyakto, the mastermind behind the show, gushed. 'Statements as part of a fashion show had been done overseas, and we thought it would be an effective way to deliver the message. We invited the activists and celebrities to carry the banners, because we hoped the buzz will travel far, and be a part of the continuous effort to care for the Earth.' Subyakto is the founder and creative director of Sejauh Mata Memandang, a decade-old fashion brand known for its environmental values as much as its aesthetic. Sejauh's first claim to fame was reinterpreting Indonesia's classic chicken graphic that usually appears on bowls used by street food vendors into a contemporary icon. The chicken appears as a pattern on flowy, everyday clothing inspired by traditional costumes. 'One of the first things I wanted to create when I started Sejauh was to make traditional Indonesian outfits like kebaya as daily wear. I wanted to make sure the fabric is comfortable for our humid, tropical weather, but still visually appealing,' Subyakto said. Subyakto's taste in style is a product of her 20-year career in editorial fashion and costume design. In the heyday of print media, she started her career as a stylist and writer in fashion magazines including CosmoGirl! Indonesia. Her talent and network led her to style for ads, music videos, concerts, musicals, films, and theatre works. She has designed costumes for over 25 mainstream movies, including Athirah, in which she won an award from the Indonesian Film Festival. Subyakto's career background gives her rare access to top celebrities, key people in mass media, and influential figures in the fashion industry. The network she built turned into support for Sejauh in its early days. The flowy, understated kebaya, long tops, and outerwear in batik-inspired motif is regularly worn by some of the most recognisable faces in local pop culture, including actress Dian Sastrowardoyo, arts scene powerhouse Amalia Wirjono, and starchitect Andra Matin. While Sejauh cemented itself as one of Indonesia's "it" fashion brands, in 2018 Subyakto brought about a major change in direction for the brand. 'I started reading about how our planet is undergoing climate change, and that fashion is one of the biggest polluters that cause it,' Subyakto said. 'I was devastated. In a moment of panic, I wanted to close the brand, but then I had a rethink and saw how the brand could actually use its influence to enlighten urbanites on the issue.' And thus began a new chapter for Sejauh. In 2019, in line with the launch of its new collection Laut Kita (Our Ocean), Sejauh planned an exhibition to 'shock' its audience. The team worked with creative director Felix Tjahjadi, and a few environmental NGOs (Diet Kantong Plastik, Pandu Laut, Divers Clean Action, and Ecoton Foundation), to create a journey in which visitors would experience a deep dive into the ocean. The exhibition featured a design installation made from plastic waste, with infographics on the current state of Indonesia's oceans, a mini photo exhibition on Indonesian nature by actor Nicholas Saputra, and a whale made of plastic, accompanied by an educational audio narrated by singer Tulus that warned of "more plastic than fish in our ocean in 2050', if we do not change our single-use plastic consumption habits. The exhibition was held in Plaza Indonesia, the country's first luxury shopping mall at the heart of Jakarta. 'I was pleasantly surprised that Plaza Indonesia was onboard with the exhibition idea, although it is different from the common definition of luxury. Prior to the exhibition, they realised that they too needed to start managing their waste better, and got help from Diet Kantong Plastik to educate their staff members to run a better waste management system,' Subyakto said. The journey towards slower and circular fashion was a gradual learning process for Sejauh. Subyakto and the team continually educate themselves to make looking good possible with minimal waste. In the past six years, they have regularly produced upcyled collections using recycled threads, as well as experimented with natural dye. 'We are blessed to be surrounded by artisans, activists, and innovators who do not think twice about sharing their knowledge. I learn so much from our collaborators, and they are always open to brainstorming on ways to produce clothes that look good, are safe to wear, and are kinder to the environment,' Subyakto said. 'I don't think any brand can claim that they are zero waste or 100 per cent conscious, because the act of producing itself uses resources and energy. But we can be more responsible about it if we choose to.' With the know-how that Sejauh has picked up in responsible fashion over the years, Subyakto saw that the next step forward would be to share their knowledge. 'One of the things that stop fashion brands from making the choice to be more responsible is the lack of information on local vendors and technologies that are accessible,' Subyakto said. 'So we thought, why not create a platform where industry practitioners can access information about artisans, vendors, and materials that will enable their products to be more responsible?' And so Studio Sejauh was born in 2024, in time with the brand's 10-year anniversary. The site encourages collaboration between brands and makers who believe in circular fashion. For example, Bidadariku in Lombok grows their own cotton in ways that are more resource-efficient while EcoTouch in Bandung works with textile waste to produce recycled threads and sound mufflers. Sejauh hopes that by sharing information that would otherwise be gatekept, more collaborations can happen and in time, the Indonesian fashion industry will move towards a more responsible future. One of Sejauh's longtime collaborators is Tarlen Handayani, a seasoned book artist with an interest in archive conservation. Since 2022, Handayani's Studio Vitarlenology in Yogyakarta has upcycled Sejauh's leftover fabric to create notebook sleeves, wallets, and quilt covers. Handayani has also led workshops for Sejauh's audience to showcase ways to upcycle leftover fabric, while sharing the understanding that everything we consume has impacts to our daily lives as a society. 'Some of the values that both Chitra and I share are the principles of fairness and mutual respect for the things we do and how they impact others. I am also grateful to find someone who understands that collaboration is about equality. I get ample space to create, and I appreciate that,' Handayani said. Despite the increasing consciousness among industry players to be more responsible, Subyakto admits that Indonesian fashion still has a lot of work to do if it were to make circular practices an industry standard. Working with various artisans in different parts of Java has shown Subyakto that efficiency is still a big issue. For example, the cotton farmers in Tuban, a town in East Java, still manually separate cotton from its seed. For a full day's work, they can only prepare a kilogram of cotton for sale, which is priced at IDR11,000 (S$0.86). "I believe the ideal future for fashion would involve a synergy between technology and traditional know-how." – Chitra Subyakto This is where Sejauh steps in. The brand consulted one of their collaborators, Sekar Kawung, on this issue of efficiency and afterwards managed to get enough funding to procure a machine to replace manual labour in cotton production. Now, the Tuban farmers can produce over 100 kg of cotton a day. 'I believe the ideal future for fashion would involve a synergy between technology and traditional know-how. If we could make raw materials production more efficient, the cost of making responsible clothing items would naturally be lower, and more people would be able to afford them,' Subyakto explained. When it comes to responsible fashion, more is merrier. 'If you want to copy Sejauh, don't just do it for the design. Copy the values and the effort as well,' Subyakto concluded. 'It's only then we can achieve sovereignty in clothing, a state where we can use local talents and resources to produce responsible clothing, instead of relying on exported materials.'
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CNA938 Rewind - A Letter to Myself: How Aminah Abdul Latif teaches children to find themselves in nature
CNA938 Rewind Play Aminah Abdul Latif is the co-founder of the Hundred Paths forest school, which uses immersive experiences in Singapore's natural environment to help children discover invaluable lessons about their abilities and instincts. Aminah, who spent 13 years in the early childhood education sector, shares how her own love for nature began when she was a child, and how she realised that her ability to empathise deeply with others — especially children — has become her "superpower". CNA938 Rewind - A Letter to Myself: How Aminah Abdul Latif teaches children to find themselves in nature Aminah Abdul Latif is the co-founder of the Hundred Paths forest school, which uses immersive experiences in Singapore's natural environment to help children discover invaluable lessons about their abilities and instincts. Aminah, who spent 13 years in the early childhood education sector, shares how her own love for nature began when she was a child, and how she realised that her ability to empathise deeply with others — especially children — has become her "superpower". 37 mins CNA938 Rewind - A Letter to Myself: How Jason Leow helps corporate leaders be alive to their needs and wants Jason Leow is the co-founder and CEO of The Doing Well Centre, a corporate leadership coaching consultancy that helps senior leaders "be more human without losing their edge". Jason shares how his journey of reinvention — from journalist to senior corporate leader, and now a business owner — was the result of having the ability to listen to his own needs and wants at different stages of his growth. 30 mins CNA938 Rewind - #TalkBack: How can we attract more people back to Pulau Ubin? Singapore could be looking to make Pulau Ubin more modern and accessible, without losing its natural charm. Lance Alexander and Daniel Martin discuss more with Dr Shawn Lum, Senior Lecturer at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Asian School of the Environment. 28 mins
