Suriname Rootstrip - a story of roots, dreams and the inspiration for a life project
Back to the roots
In 2016, I made a special trip to Suriname, the country of our father, together with my brothers. Not an ordinary holiday, but a search for roots, family, local flavors and stories that until then were only known in fragments.
The decision was made quickly – during a family dinner – and the content of the trip came rather by chance. During a stay in a French B&B, I met a former gendarme couple. When I shared my plans, they told me how they spent years in the Surinamese jungle bringing medicine to villages along the river. They spoke about the Maroons – descendants of Africans who were brought to Suriname for slavery, but found their freedom in the jungle and still form close-knit communities with their own culture and language. And they shared many tips of unique villages and people that we could meet there.
Their story only made our plans more fascinating. It made us get to places and meet people who made our trip legendary.
An intense journey of discovery
The journey started dramatically, to say the least. I had planned the whole trip down to the last detail, but discovered two days before departure that my visa was no longer valid. My brothers Raf and Jeremy left without me, but stranded in a flooded Paramaribo and were locked up in their hotel room.
Two days later, after an emergency procedure, I was able to leave. The moment I landed, the sun broke through and our journey could really begin. Everything seemed to be “meant to be” in the end.
What followed were two intense weeks: a culinary journey of discovery in which we tasted all the traditional dishes and drinks of Suriname, meetings with distant family and finding our father’s parental home. In the National Birth Register, we even turned up family history dating back to slavery.
When we found out that we were 1/8th Native American, it was another revelation.
From dream to DZJiNG
When the world came to a standstill in 2020 due to Corona, something unexpected happened: there was space to stand still, to create and finally to do something with the wish that had been expressed years earlier on the banks of the Suriname River. What seemed like a distant dream at the time, suddenly got the chance to become tangible. Doing something with my passion for flavors. And above all, to be able to share that passion en masse.
The fact that the recipe of the Surinamese ginger beer, which I loved as a child, became the basis for our first ginger mix, completed the circle.
In 2021, I founded DZJiNG. Not as a purely commercial project, but as an expression of passion and authenticity. With the desire to let people enjoy surprising and honest flavors, with ginger as a common thread.
Fair, also in the sense of ethically responsible. With fair trade ingredients, as a sign of respect for the farmers who provide us with quality products.
And DZJiNG is an ode to the Suriname River – pure and magical, unspoiled. Inspiring and always surprising.
Jeffrey, creator of DZJiNG moments
