SINGAPORE, July 27 — What links a foreign domestic worker from Indonesia, a construction labourer from Bangladesh, and a cook from Myanmar? A shared meal, as it turns out — or at least, the recipes for one. A cookbook called At The Same Table was launched yesterday, July 26, and it owes its existence to two organisations that know Singapore’s migrant worker community from the inside: the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) and ItsRainingRaincoats (IRR).
HOME advocates broadly for the rights and well-being of migrant workers; IRR focuses specifically on supporting migrant domestic workers. Their recommendation connected a student team from A Hand for Migrant Workers with 55 workers who were willing to share their recipes and personal stories.
How the collaboration worked
The mechanism is straightforward but crucial: HOME and IRR acted as trusted intermediaries. The two groups know which workers come from which backgrounds, who is willing to speak, and whose stories deserve accurate representation. They helped A Hand for Migrant Workers — a student-led initiative — identify the 55 participants.
The result is a collection that reflects genuine diversity rather than a narrow slice of the migrant population. No single recipe defines Singapore’s migrant workforce.
The collaboration ensured workers from varied origins — domestic workers, labourers, service staff — could contribute dishes from their home cuisines alongside the narratives that give those dishes meaning. HOME and IRR remain active in the community, and the cookbook is a direct product of that ongoing presence.
Why the recommendation mattered
This is not the first time HOME has been involved in cultural-exchange projects, but the cookbook format is intriguingly concrete. Recipes demand precision — measurements, techniques, ingredients — which suits a journalistic approach that values clear mechanisms over abstract goodwill. The 55 workers did more than pose for photos; they taught the students how their food is actually prepared, from staple grains to celebratory dishes.
HOME’s role in the migrant worker community extends well beyond a single cookbook. The organisation regularly provides legal aid, shelter, and advocacy.
Its partnership with IRR on this project highlights the complementary nature of their missions: HOME covers the broader migrant worker population, while IRR zeroes in on the specific vulnerabilities of domestic workers, who often live inside their employers’ homes and face unique challenges.
What the cookbook represents
The launch date — July 26 — is recent enough that the full impact is still unfolding. What researchers and advocates will be watching is whether the cookbook does more than sit on coffee tables. Cultural exchange through food is a well-worn path, but the involvement of two prominent welfare groups suggests a deeper intention: fostering understanding by making the invisible visible on a kitchen shelf.
For the 55 workers, the project offered a rare platform. Their names, faces, and recipes are now part of a published record.
For HOME and IRR, it is one more tool in a long campaign to shift public perception — from seeing migrant workers as anonymous labour to recognising them as individuals with histories, skills, and tastes worth sharing.
