Cultivating Change EP#11: Building a Fairer Food Future Together Using Cooperatives

---

How can a grassroots co-op transform the food on your table—and the lives behind it? .

EP#11: Meet Kongsi Co-op — Reimagining Food & Farming Through Community Ownership

In this episode of Cultivating Change, Nova and Tamanna sit down with Kongsi Co-op founders Siu Hou, Callie, and Samantha to explore how a cooperative model can transform the way we grow, distribute, and consume food. Born during the pandemic, Kongsi Co-op is more than a marketplace—it’s a community-owned enterprise built on shared risk and a collective vision.

Discover how Kongsi Co-ops CSA FoodBag subscription and hands-on Kongsi Academy workshops educate consumers, and dive into Fund A Land, a pioneering community land trust preserving organic farmland for future generations.

Tune in now to learn how true “dividends” extend beyond money—to healthy soil, clean rivers, and empowered farmers.

Show notes

03:00 – 05:00 Meet the guests: Siu Hou, Callie, and Samantha from Kongsi Coop.

05:00 – 08:00 How the idea for Kongsi Coop began during the pandemic.

08:00 – 12:00 Why a cooperative model? Lessons from Taiwan and South Korea.

12:00 – 15:00 Callie’s journey: from early days of Justlife organic retail to pushing beyond retail into systemic change.

15:00 – 18:00 Community events, carnivals, and the limits of being “just a retailer.”

18:00 – 22:00 Samantha’s story: from wellness and TCM to starting an organic café and fermentation workshops.

22:00 – 26:00 The lockdown, moving operations into a townhouse, and launching fermentation entrepreneurship programmes.

26:00 – 30:00 Siu Hou’s transition from engineering and banking into cooperative development.

30:00 – 34:00 Governance and accountability: transparency, internal auditing, and building trust among members.

34:00 – 38:00 Culture of support — why co-owners step in to share responsibility and keep the co-op values intact.

38:00 – 42:00 Kongsi Academy: why education is one of the two main pillars of the co-op.

42:00 – 47:00 Experiential learning: cooking, eating together, and “hands-on first” workshops.

47:00 – 50:00 CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in Malaysia: the idea of consumers sharing the risks of farming.

50:00 – 54:00 Challenges of CSA: cooking less at home, narrow consumer expectations, and supermarkets shaping taste.

54:00 – 58:00 Seasonal eating and “ugly vegetables” — reintroducing diversity to diets.

58:00 – 1:02:00 Changing habits through education: from sweet potato leaves to Brazilian spinach.

1:02:00 – 1:07:00 Fund A Land explained: from GK Farm’s land sale to creating a community land trust.

1:07:00 – 1:12:00 What does “co-owning” really mean? Redefining ownership as responsibility, not entitlement.

1:12:00 – 1:16:00 Why farmland is disappearing: urban development pressures and ageing farmers.

1:16:00 – 1:20:00 Land trusts as a solution: protecting soil, livelihoods, and food for future generations.

1:20:00 – 1:23:00 Advocacy: GMO seed legislation and working with NGOs on seed sovereignty.

1:23:00 – 1:25:00 Closing reflections — hopes for the next 5–10 years of Kongsi Coop.

Additional Resources

1. Subscribe to a Kongsi Food Bag here.
2. Curious about Kongsi Co-op’s Fund A Land Initiative? Learn more here.
3. Discover Cornwall Park (NZ Community Land Trust Example) here.

Special thanks to Siu Hou, Callie, and Samantha from Kongsi Co-op , for sharing their insights about cooperatives and how we can use them to create more value for our collective food futures. 

Creator and host: Nova Nelson.
Executive Producer, and researcher:  Tamanna Patel.
Follow us on Instagram
Visit us at Cultivate Central

About Cultivating Change

Cultivating Change is a podcast where we unearth Southeast Asia's regenerative food stories. From smallholder farmers to urban growers, researchers to environmentalists and food entrepreneurs to community organisers. We speak to those making an impact. Whether they are re-imagining local food systems, re-connecting us to healthier sustainable food or re-generating landscapes through agriculture. This is not just a podcast. It's a recipe for change.