Sustainable Living - Sustainable Living
Community-based Projects
Tai Po Fire
Sustainable Living
Tai Po Fire

For many families affected by the Wang Fuk Court Fire at Tai Po in November 2025, the journey toward recovery is still unfolding.

In the days after the tragedy, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden — particularly KFBG Green Hub team — responded with urgency and compassion. Our spaces were swiftly transformed into emergency shelters, opening their doors to neighbours in need. What began as a crisis response soon grew into something deeper: a community of care, shaped by trust, solidarity, and practical support.

Connect with nature is an important element in our residential shelter
Connecting with nature is an important element in our residential shelter programme.

Restoring a Sense of Home

From the very beginning, our aim was not only to provide shelter, but to help restore a sense of normalcy and dignity. Within hours of the fire, KFBG Green Hub, located less than one kilometre from Wang Fuk Court, welcomed residents into its guest rooms. Since late November 2025, 21 people have been staying there, finding safety close to home.

As the need grew, we partnered with The University of Hong Kong to open the Kadoorie Centre, just 15 minutes from Tai Po and next to the KFBG site. By mid-December, 58 more residents had been welcomed — enabled to stay connected to familiar surroundings, schools, routines, and one another.

The grounds of Green Hub, where guest rooms were opened to shelter Tai Po residents displaced by the Wang Fuk Court fire
Providing a Sanctuary: The peaceful grounds of KFBG Green Hub, which swiftly opened its guest rooms to offer shelter, dignity, and a sense of normalcy to Tai Po residents displaced by the Wang Fuk Court fire.

Healing Hearts and Minds

Recovery does not end with a roof overhead. True healing takes time, care, and human connection. Recognising this, our Sustainable Living programme staff worked closely with Mind HK and professionals from different fields to offer emotional and mental wellbeing support. Through weekly wellness activities at KFBG Green Hub, residents are given space to pause, connect, and begin healing — together.

Beverage making workshop with plum in season
Cherishing the moment of a seasonal plum beverage-making workshop.
Horticulture therapy is one of our means to facilitate recovery
Horticulture therapy is one of our means to facilitate recovery.
We accompany the residents along the emotional journey of grief
We accompany the residents along the emotional journey of grief.

The Road Ahead

With support from the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, we are committed to operating these shelters for up to autum 2026. Keeping residents close to their roots in Tai Po remains central to our approach—strengthening community ties that are essential for rebuilding lives and restoring hope.

This ongoing effort is collective. We are deeply grateful to our staff, volunteers, and partners—including HKU, the Commissioner for Heritage’s Office, Feeding Hong Kong, A Drop of Life, Mind HK, Global Tea Hut, The Peninsula Hotel, Veolia, Opera Box, and the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation—for standing alongside the affected residents of Wang Fuk Court.

This is not only a story of response. It is a story of neighbours showing up for one another—step by step, day by day.

A living philosophy

In returning to its founding principles, KFBG demonstrates that sustainable living is not a checklist, but a continuous process of empowerment, connection, and care. In a rapidly changing world, it offers a hopeful path forward—one grounded in resilience, regeneration, and a deep respect for the interdependence of life.

Pathways

Explore Our Sustainable Living Journey

Select a pathway below to discover how we co-create sustainable futures, eat well, design for resilience, build community hubs, and drive community-based change.