Ever since 8 January this year, there has been a mysterious fragrance emanating from the first storey of Jing Si Hall – due to the starting of the Chinese New Year baking operations. As we bid farewell to the past year and welcome the new, kneading and baking have become a heartwarming way for the Tzu Chi baking team to say goodbye to the last remaining days of 2006.

The baking session will last for a month. From kneading the dough, wrapping fillings, mixing ingredients, baking to packaging, every aspect of the production line shows just how earnest the Tzu Chi baking team was in its work.

Sister Chen Ai Qi goes onsite everyday to accompany her fellow team members. She likes getting involved in the baking process too.

Sister Radica Sookhai tries her hands at kneading the fillings.

“Ready to bake.” Brother Ke Shui Yuan popping a batch of almond mixtures into the oven

Sister Zhang (Sales Team leader) said she is much at ease now knowing how to manage time between house chores and her duties in Tzu Chi.

Granny Chen cycles to Jing Si Hall everyday to help at the production site. Picture shows Granny putting in the pineapple filling into the carton box as Sister Han Xiao Ping looked on.

Ever since 8 January this year, there has been a mysterious fragrance emanating from the first storey of Jing Si Hall – due to the starting of the Chinese New Year baking operations. As we bid farewell to the past year and welcome the new, kneading and baking have become a heartwarming way for the Tzu Chi baking team to say goodbye to the last remaining days of 2006.

The New Year goodie-baking tradition of Tzu Chi Singapore stems back to 2001. At that time, a group of Tzu Chi Collegiate Youth members (also known as Tzuching) who had just came back from the Tzu Chi Youth Training Camp in Hualien, Taiwan were deeply moved by the ‘921 Project Hope’, a campaign by Tzu Chi to rebuild 50 secondary and primary schools destroyed in the 1999 earthquake. Touched by the lengths Tzu Chi was going to help and being aware of the huge costs that the campaign would incur, these youths decided to initiate the baking and charity sale of New Year goodies. Ever since then, the Singapore Branch has been ensuring the continuation of this ‘rendezvous’ that draws kind response from the mass.

Environmental-friendly packaging

The packaging of this year reflects an extension of last year’s theme on environmental friendliness. The four types of hand-made goodies (almond cookies, pineapple pillows, cornmeal biscuits and vegetarian love letters) reside in transparent and environmental-friendly plastic lunchboxes, and sell for S$16 each. To reward buyers for helping with saving resources; those who make subsequent purchase with the recyclable lunchboxes will be given a 3 dollar discount. Mr. Wong, who has been supplying the needy under the care of Singapore branch with necessities in his capacity as a rice trader, also helpfully donated 26 25kg-sacks of flour and 2 25-kg sacks of granular sugar to the baking team.

The baking session for this year will last for a month with baking days being fixed as Monday to Friday, from 9.30am to 6pm. In the baking days, we’d see brothers and sisters wearing kerchiefs around their heads and aprons, focusing on kneading the dough, wrapping fillings, mixing ingredients, baking and packaging. Every aspect of the production line revealed just how diligent and earnest the Tzu Chi baking team was in its work.

There were also many heartwarming gestures of care and appreciation amidst the busy vibes. Some volunteers would bring morning breakfast for their fellow members, while the kitchen volunteers would make tea and desserts which help rid heatiness. There were also volunteers bringing fruits and home-made goodies to share with everyone.

Meet the cookie makers

Being a full-time volunteer, Sister Chen Ai Qi was fast to agree upon being appointed as the main coordinator of the Charity Bake Sale by Sister Lin Cui Lian (the leader of Southeast Compassion Group). Living in the Southeast zone, she would goes onsite everyday to accompany her fellow members and gets involved personally in the baking process.

“My greatest satisfaction was getting to know a lot of people.  Everyone is so helpful; some have very long working hours but still come over to help after work. Some elderly volunteers stay very far away, but still make it a point to come down and help out, which is just so heartwarming.” Sister Ai Qi said there are nearly 30 volunteers who work in shifts to produce and package the goodies every day. It is expected that an estimated of 600 person/time will be involved throughout the production period of one month.

Sister Radica Sookhai comes from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American nation of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles). She relates that this is her first attempt at baking goodies in her life. “It feels great working with people to contribute to the society!” She exclaims that she enjoys every single moment spent in Tzu Chi. Led into the organization in 2003 by Sister Wu Yu Jing (a regular Home Visit volunteer and is currently serving as the coordinator for the English Sharing Session), she finds the more she gets involved, the more she likes it here.

Listening to her muse, “On Monday I’ll be working at the Chinatown Jing Si Books & Café, Tuesday (today) morning will be spent making rounds at Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital and everyone will come over to bake New Year goodies in the afternoon. I’ll be setting off to Ubi Recycling Center to do my part in environmental protection tomorrow, and Thursday will be spent at the books & Café again.” Sister Radica enthused with a beaming smile, “Every single day is so fulfilling and happy for me!”

Brother Ke Shui Yuan reports to Jing Si Hall everyday. Being of the idea that Brother Zeng Qiu Zhen should not undertake the baking alone, he volunteered to help out at the baking site. “I hope I can help to reduce his workload.” And so he started learning from scratch.

Thanks to the guidance of Brother Qiu Zhen, he could now master the baking procedures despite having over-baked some of the goodies earlier. “I am very grateful to him. Now I know how to adjust the temperature and time for baking; and with this experience, I should be able to take on this job next time.” Although Brother Shui Yuan has only joined Tzu Chi for 5 months, he has already experienced mooncake-making in August last year and many other large and small-scale kitchen activities. When asked about how he felt after working together with many volunteers for the past few months, Brother Shui Yuan sincerely related, “Tzu Chi is like a big family where everyone cares for one another. It is truly heartwarming.”

Everyday at 6.30am, Granny Chen Shu Er, who is already past the age of 80, would go pick up trashes at the beach near her house. She will then ride her bicycle to Jing Si Hall with recyclables sorted out from the trash and place them in the storage room before she proceeds to the kitchen to start her day with baking goodies. When asked if what she is doing makes her happy, the shy granny earnestly remarked, “Sure I am! I wouldn’t be here if this isn’t enjoyable!”

Many were affected by Granny Chen’s diligence and great vigour. “She has brought motivation to a lot of people to help out with the New Year goodies,” said Sister Ai Qi. Granny’s deft movements, concentration and spirit of giving are indeed a heartening sight to the fellow volunteers.

Living just a few blocks away, every morning Sister Zhang Xiu Qin would prepare meal ingredients in advance before her leaves home for Jing Si Hall. This is because after taking care of the New Year goodies production and sales, she would need to rush home to cook dinner for her husband and two kids. Sister Xiu Qin even put off her Flower Arrangement Class with the Tzu Chi Continuing Education Centre for one semester in order to fully devote herself to her duties being the leader of the Sales Team.

Having to strike a balance between house chores and her duties in Tzu Chi, she revealed that she has came to know how to “seize time to do what needs to be done”. “It’s nothing to me actually. My partner Sister Han Xiao Ping has it harder. She has to come over to help out even after office hours.”  The spirit of appreciating and helping one another makes the Tzu Chi family even more beautiful.

At the packaging area, one could see that each and every box of the goodies was wrapped with cheerful red wrappers printed with New Year wishes which translate to be “Be Contented and Appreciate Every Little Thing” and “Forgive Easily and You Will Find Peace”. The collective efforts and mutual appreciation demonstrated by the production members behind the scene has surely added even more sentimental value to the goodies.