ABOUT US
There is a story behind everything. We are no exception.
WHAT WE ARE
We are a social enterprise. Our activities, programmes and events are designed to benefit society. Our commercial activities are integrated with our community service.
We are a continuous work in progress. We are constantly striving to develop activities, programmes and events that will engage communities and enhance the richness of their lives.
We are partners. We are always open to collaborate with both public and private organisations, as well as individuals. We welcome ideas, suggestions and feedback.
PHILOSOPHY
In today’s world, there are so many things that we do too much of: we eat too much, play too much on our smartphones, binge-watch too many TV dramas, shop too much online, and the list goes on and on. And it doesn’t take a genius to tell us that these excesses are not only bad for our health but also very bad for our planet.
Well, the good news is that there is one thing that we can’t do too much of — learn. And that is probably the best way to counter the excesses mentioned above. But we don’t mean going to school to get an education. As Mark Twain famously quipped, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
It is said that humans first evolved in Africa. If that is true, then it would be apt to highlight a bit of African wisdom here. First, a traditional African proverb says, “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” Second, an African term points to the interdependence of all things — ubuntu. Actually, ubuntu means “humanity”, but it is often translated as “I am because we are”, or “humanity towards others”.
We believe that this universal bond of sharing not only connects all of humanity but it also connects the entire planet Earth. Animals, birds, reptiles, fish, and insects are also Earthlings, and Earth is our home. The natural environment — forests, mountains, rivers, oceans, and everything else not built by humans — is what supports life on this planet.
Therefore, we strongly believe we must learn to live in harmony with nature, i.e. not try to bend it to our will. In order for humankind to flourish, we must work with nature, not against it — which is why I SKOVEN’s core values are as follows:
N
NATURE
Everything begins with Mother Nature, without whom we will not be here. All that we do should be in accordance with the laws of nature, and all our endeavours should avoid long term environmental damage.
S
SERIOUS FUN
Far too often we take learning much too seriously and making profits even more seriously. We learned from experience that the best learning takes place when we are having fun, which is why we insist that people come first and they must have serious fun at our campsites.
E
EXCELLENCE
As young men, we learned that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well; and if it’s not worth doing well, it’s not worth doing at all. Similarly, when it comes to serving our customers and the community, we believe in going the extra mile.
W
WISDOM
For us, learning is for life; both in terms of duration and purpose. In other words, we believe that the goal of learning should be achieving wisdom that enables us to live harmoniously with nature and peacefully with other people — even if they are different from us. Thus, for us, learning is about edification, not just education.
HISTORY
The story of I SKOVEN began from the scouting friendship of a few “old boys” who went to the same school. They actually attended school in different years, but what brought them together was the common identity of being scouts of the same troop.
As the saying goes, “Once a scout, always a scout.” Through the years of 2000’s to 2010’s, they have been returning to help the scout group in terms of facilitating camps and trainings in the woods. One of the regular campsites for their Group Camp was along Sungai Sendat, Hulu Yam Bharu.
Years later, they discovered a nice spot along the same river, which is full of natural elements around and offers better privacy and serenity. In 2019, they created D’Haven @ Sendat right there to promote the great outdoors to people in general, not just to scouts or uniform groups, because they believe in the importance of fostering a connection with the Nature.
Sometime around when the pandemic occurred in 2020, the need for people to reconnect with others, the environment, and themselves, was as strong as ever. The idea of establishing a Forest School programme then came into the picture. Since the concept of forest schools began in Denmark, one of them translated “forest” into Danish, and discovered that “i skoven” stands for “in the forest”. Thus, the seed of I SKOVEN was planted in March 2020, with the campsite renamed to I SKOVEN @ Sendat, which means “In The Forest at (Sungai) Sendat”.
.jpg)
With the idea of "Play, Laugh, Learn" in mind, we see great potentials that can be attained through proper camping experience and outdoor educational programmes. We hope the story of I SKOVEN will continue along with active participation from the community, and together we will inspire people to connect with the Nature, as we discover more about each other, and ourselves too.