Enabling Village at Lengkok Bahru is an inclusive community space that is made up of organisations that serve and are supported by people with diverse abilities. However, did you know that it has various facilities and services that everyone can use? This also encourages greater interaction between people of all abilities.
Here are some of the things you can do on a visit to the Enabling Village.
Things to Do at The Enabling Village
Visit VISTA
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Enabling Village now has a four-storey extension featuring i’mable Collective Space and other tenants like Voices of Singapore, Inschool and i’mable Collective Space.
This space is clearly inclusive as it had Braille and raised strips on the directional sign posts as well as an Enable lane with high-contrast textured strips to guide those with visual impairment and wheelchair users.
Designed to connect the rustic Redhill neighbourhood with the bustling Jalan Bukit Merah belt, Vista features a multipurpose Village Plaza with an amphitheatre, a vibrant food hall, wellness and training spaces, and green features.
At VISTA, visitors can find SG Enable’s i’mable Collective Space – first dedicated showcase of pan-disability creatives, and collaboration with weareSuper and Supermama.
The weareSuper Collective Store is a curated space for inclusive gifting, showcasing the diversity of Singapore’s most original inclusive brands and makers.
Bringing together over 25 Social Service Agencies (SSAs) and creators with disabilities, it is the largest platform of its kind in Singapore, with plans to grow its community of partner labels through ongoing outreach and training.
The walkway through VISTA building is open from 7 am to 10.30 pm daily.
Visit the The Art Faculty
The Art Faculty shop at the Enabling Village is run by the Autism Resource Centre. The merchandise produced is based on artwork created by student artists under the Pathlight Artist Development Programme.
Within The Art Faculty, there is also an Art Bar which trains young adults with autism to become baristas. It is one of several dining spots within the Enabling Village.
This community project with Starbucks also allows customers to purchase the usual Starbucks offerings at a lower price while supporting PWDs.
Dine at Cafes and Restaurants
At the Enabling Village, there are a several tenants with staff of various abilities that serve a variety of foods and drinks. Support the food and beverage outlets at Enabling Village armed with a social mission for a more inclusive society.
AMGD Superfood
This newly-opened halal-certified superfood restaurant is where you want to go for a nutritious, delicious meal designed to boost your energy and enhance your daily performance.
AMGD Superfood, short for Ah Ma Gawd, has been an online bento store for the past 9 years and its first brick-and-mortar concept has a bigger variety of dishes, including healthier desserts, a snack bar and a coffee station.
We really liked the mains ($11.90 to $24.90) from five main categories. Choose a meal that can give you a glow-up, or something for energy at the gym, and one that has been a winner with their customers.
We tried WhataCatch (Barramundi with basmati fried rice) and Spellbound (Teriyaki Salmon with brown rice and onsen egg), which were clean food ideal for our palette and nourishing to our body.
Perk up with a coffee sweetened with none other than honeycomb, or a slice of kueh lapis made with Monkfruit sweeteners. We loved the chempedak flavoured kuek lapis and the $5 per head snack bar!
This is a great pit stop for a meal or a mid-afternoon meeting, and definitely for a cuppa.
Read more about our experience at AMGD and visit the AMGD Superfood website.
Bailey & Patch Pet Cafe
Looking for a cafe to dine in with your furkids? Bailey & Patch Cafe is Singapore’s first pet cafe and grooming centre that empowers persons with disabilities.
The cafe also has a private event hall suitable for parties. The brightly lit environment makes it a welcoming place for pets and their hoomans.
The resident baker is Ben who is in charge of making all the brownies and baked goods. Give them a try and support Ben, a young baker with autism who puts in his all when he is baking.
We also tried the accessibly priced dishes like Claypot Assam Fish ($15.80), Signature Golden Rice Noodle Soup with Seafood ($11.80), Prawn Paste Chicken ($6.80) which were sumptuous hearty dishes we enjoyed. The cafe also serves local drinks and breakfast sets like kaya toast and buah long long juice.
Bailey & Patch also serves dishes for pets including Pet Cai Fan, Doggies Dips and more.
Find out more about Bailey & Patch Pet Cafe.
Mad Roasters’s Outpost
Open from 8 am daily, this cafe in a nondescript building aka Enabling’s Outpost. It serves coffee, kaya toast, brioche sets and of course coffee and matcha.
Eat Talk (VISTA Level 1)
This fusion eatery serves Western, Korean, Japanese-inspired dishes and also provides catering services. It also creates opportunities and employs individuals with special needs.
Postboy Coffee (VISTA Level 2)
Located at level two, this is where you get your caffeine fix. It’s right next to SG Enable’s i’mable Collective Space, in a comfortable, open space with an option for outdoor seating. Customers can also pen postcards or letters to their future selves using stationery featuring artworks co-created with PWDs through Young Gallery and Super Studio.
Wildflower Studio: Art Jamming with Cats
If you love cats and making art, this is your jam. Wildflower Studio combines a Cat cafe with art jamming and works with cat rescuers to run a fostering program. So yes, you can take home both your masterpiece and a cat.
Cats are lovingly nursed back to health, socialised to hoomans and showcased to the public through art jamming sessions.
When we visited Wildflower Studio, the cats were very social and even sat on our laps with most of them eager for some sayang. Each cat is also airtagged as they are therapy animals that visit patients at IMH.
There are two packages available for customers: there is a 2.5 hour semi-guided session at $48 per person which includes cat circle time, a chance to feed the cats and learn about their stories, then a painting session and photos taken together with the cats. The Chill and Paint session is $20 per hour, with an optional extension of 30 minutes for $8 on weekdays and $10 on weekends. Participants can choose to paint or just chill with the cats.
Persons with disabilities (PWD) and caregivers can get a 20% off art-jamming with cats sessions held at Enabling Village.
Find out more about Wildflower Studio.
ActiveSG Gym
A fitness gym with a studio and equipment, gym goers are able to come to this common space to train and bond. This is the first inclusive gym that is equipped with special gym equipment like removable seats for wheelchair users, braille dots on the treadmill user panels for those who need it and a “hearing induction loop” system in the studio for those who use hearing aids. As a way to extend its reach to people with disabilities and seniors, the gym will also introduce suitable fitness and sports programmes.
Tech Able
Step inside the Tech Able showcase to view how technology can those with disabilities. There are various exhibits on display.
If you are interested to learn more about any of them, you can approach the staff on duty there to find out more.
Lil Splashes Aquatics – First Fully Inclusive Indoor Swiming School
This swim school caters to stroke patients, children and youths with disabilities. The usual infant, toddler and swimming programs are also available at the outlet.
BONUS 1: Caregivers Pod
The Caregivers Pod is a dedicated multi-functional space for caregivers to organise peer support sessions and get-togethers. Being a caregiver is not an easy job and thus having the support from the community is important.
Here, Caregivers can experience self-directed learning and workshops to support and enhance their caregiving journey. They can also enjoy some rest time while their care recipients are engaged in activities at Enabling Village.
The booking of the space is reserved strictly for activities and events for caregivers of persons with disabilities. Visit Enabling Village’s website for more information on how to book the space.
BONUS 2: Children’s Playground
Kids of all abilities can also play together at the Kindle Garden’s inclusive playground which has play features that cater to everyone. The Kindle Garden playground is open to the public after 7 pm on weekdays.
There is another playground that is close to the ActiveSG Gym. It has wheel-chair friendly features like a ramp and a sea-saw.
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Other Activities at Enabling Village
Look out for other PWD-friendly programmes happening at Enabling Village including movie screenings, nutrition programmes and theatre performances. More information can be found on the Enabling Village website.
