The world of Tzu Chi January 2021 (Vol.130)

2021 • 01 30 pecial Feature Pai Jen set up a small organic farm in his home using aquaponics farming and homemade compost. This beautiful handmade seashell lamp was collected from Tzu Chi recycling centre. Pai Jen fixed the faulty bulb, and it becomes an exquisite piece at his new home. When her children asked to buy a new thing, she would ask them whether they really needed it or was it just a wish list. Normally, they would pause to think it over and realized it was the latter, and would not pester further. Guek Hong said, since her children were very young, she had never bought any watercolour paints for them. She collected leftover watercolour paints from recycling centre. Sometimes when the watercolour paints were too dry to be used, her children would tell her “Never mind, just add a little water and wait for a few days. Then we can use it when it has softened.” Both she and her husband are pleased with their children’s maturity and understanding. Once, her daughter creatively used the recycled fabrics she left behind to make a skirt. Until today, Guek Hong can still remember vividly the joy on her daughter’s face when she finished making her skirt. Guek Hong said, “It’s easy to buy a new one, but making one using our own hands brings a different kind of joy.” She had also used bedsheets to make cushion covers. Influenced by the good examples set by the couple, their children have also learned to value and appreciate things around them, and learned not be wasteful, not