Island Community
Inspired by Gratitude - Named after the Japanese word kansha, meaning “gratitude,” the project embraces harmony between nature and human creativity. Every Kanshalife initiative honors the Earth and the people—turning learning, making, and giving into a continuous cycle of renewal.
Geng Bersih Kampung
Pantai Tengah Langkawi
Geng Bersih Kampung (GBK) is a community movement nurtured in partnership with The Kanshalife Project with the support of The Datai Pledge, dedicated to transforming Kampung Padang Putih into a clean, green, and thriving village. Founded in 2019 by Ms. Susana Salim and Ms. Zuraidah, GBK began as a small initiative to inspire pride and collective care for the environment. Today, it has grown into a living example of community empowerment—where residents, especially youth and women, come together to beautify their surroundings, reduce waste, and nurture local biodiversity.
Rooted in the spirit of gotong-royong (mutual cooperation), GBK reflects Kanshalife’s mission to build regenerative communities through education, creativity, and shared responsibility. Each cleanup, planting, and learning activity is an act of gratitude to the land—strengthening the bond between people and nature while inspiring others to live more consciously.
Tree House Society
Ayer Hangat, Langkawi
About 250 Rohingya refugee families live in Langkawi Island now, those who left their homes due to the ongoing political crisis and genocide in Myanmar. Kiran visited the community in October 2022, their small make shift learning centre that was housing about 25 children from the ages of 5 to 12 years old.
According to the UNHCR data, about 45,000 refugee children do not have access to formal education or health care programs in Malaysia.
It felt like these children were forgotten by society. Their learning centre was run down, dirty and uncomfortable. It didn’t feel like a healthy place for a child to learn and grow. Refugee children in Malaysia cannot attend public schools due to their stateless status.
After a few months of knowing the children, Kiran decided to get more involved, it felt right, to find volunteers, raise funds and create this grassroots educational project! In hopes to bring more together and give them the education they deserve.
Hence the start of our new learning centre, The TreeHouse Society, a place for underprivileged and refugee children in Langkawi Island.
The Datai Pledge
Official Partner
The partnership between The Datai Pledge and The Kanshalife Project is a meeting of hearts rooted in the same soil — a shared dream to restore balance between people and nature. Together, we nurture hands that create and minds that care, transforming waste into beauty and learning into livelihood. From the quiet glow of eco-candles to the laughter of children planting seeds in their kampung, our collaboration breathes life into a vision of Langkawi that thrives in harmony with its land and community
DESA
Autistic Community Empowerment
DESA is one of Kanshalife’s local partners, playing an essential role in strengthening community-based environmental stewardship in Langkawi and empowering autistice children and youth in improving their life quality. DESA brings deep local knowledge, strong community relationships, and a genuine commitment to improving the quality of life for their members. Their involvement ensures that every initiative—from recycling efforts and youth engagement to green infrastructure projects—is rooted in the needs, culture, and aspirations of life improvements of these people in need of help and guidance.
