Waste Not Want Not

Philanthropist PATRICIA RODRIGUES JONES is a longterm expat living a full and active life in Singapore. The Brazilian subscribes to a waste-not-want-not ethos, and is living well, the conscious way. In a rare spare moment, she showed us around her grand home in Kilburn Estate!

- Georgina Hockley

Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to Singapore.

I was born and raised in Brazil, but I’ve been living abroad for over 25 years. I moved first to the UK in 1997, where I lived for 12 years and met my husband Rob. We moved to Geneva soon after our first daughter was born, in the beginning of 2009. We were happy living in Geneva, had two more children, and even bought a property there. In 2013, when I’d barely finished refurbishing the house, my husband said we were moving to Singapore. I didn’t want to come! That was almost 10 years ago (how time flies), and I love Singapore now. Our dogs Coco and Chip also love the outdoor lifestyle that this sunny country affords.

Tell us about your career and charity work. During my London days, I owned a fashion boutique, but after moving to Geneva and having kids, I stopped working in paid employment. Since coming to Singapore, I’ve become involved with charities and non-profit organisations that support humanitarian and environmental causes – one of which, Green Bees Social, I founded a few years ago.

I love travelling and discovering new places, especially getting off the beaten track! Two of the non-profits I’m involved with, Women on a Mission and HER Planet Earth, take women on expeditions to remote locations. I’ve been fortunate to go on quite a few of the trips. I’m also writing a children’s book about climate change, written in a non-confronting, accessible tone to encourage the next generation of environmentalists.