Thanks to Going Natural Hair Care, I had the honor to present Sabi Wiri, a weekend in which Bad hair was uprooted, the beauty of natural hairstyles was highlighted and natural hair care was key.

Launching my products in my home town was more than just a dream come true. It brought together all the projects I’ve ever worked on.

While the Going Natural products are designed for optimal Hair Care from root to top the Sabi Wiri event is meant to change the stereotypical perception of natural hair. This is because I firmly believe that natural hair can only truly flourish when our styles are free from the stigmas that smother our roots.

To seriously get rid of stigmas, one has to get to the source of the problems, analyze them, uproot them and offer solutions. That is exactly the goal of the Sabi Wiri event themed Bad Hair Uprooted.

 

 

The event opened with the exhibition it was named after Bad Hair Uprooted. While pillars pictured hairstyles that sparked the natural hair internet revolution, the supporting book shared the untold history of Black follicles highlighting the injustice of unequal hair rights.

Janine den Hartog-Parisius, my best friend since high school, officially opened the exhibition. Not only did she supportively witness me struggling going natural, she also attended my fFirst ever natural hair event in Suriname in 2003 telling me afterwards that I started a revolution. As true bestie who did a wonderful job.

While the sister hairstylists Giovanni and Altagracia Cairo were styling models I continued with the program reading from my book explaining why it’s important to share the history of our follicles. Highlight of the evening and a huge honor was handing the first copy of my book to Mrs. Liesbeth Venetiaan, the former First Lady of Suriname.

 

 

Not only was she the only First Lady I knew rocking a natural a few years back, she has been supportive of my journey from the start. She wrote the foreword of my first book and allowed me to interview her for my site. So you can imagine how grateful I was to hand the First Lady my new book Bad Hair Uprooted, the untold story of Black Follicles.  

The documentary The Going Natural Video Diaries followed by a panel discussion was scheduled for the next day. The goal of the film which pictures the natural hair movement in motion, is to create awareness and start a dialog about the impact of the natural hair renaissance on society.

Unfortunately the Minister of Education who prohibited dreadlocks in schools couldn’t join the panel and although the ex-Minister of Justice who has dreadlocks said to be very supportive of the program, he couldn’t make it either. That was certainly a minus but luckily it didn’t really impact the outcome of day two because it was a great success.

Beautiful families attented

The audience was super engaged, asking questions and the panel was very responsive. If I as the moderator didn’t end it we could have still been discussing issues today.

The last day of Going Natural Hair Care workshops was an even greater success. After explaining how to use each and every one of the Going Natural Hair Care products for maximum results, participants asked questions, shared their stories and signed up for consultations. The almost one on one interaction with customers is always special and these workshops were so much fun that I went overtime both times. 

The three days in a row event was certainly intense yet nevertheless inspiring. The energy throughout the whole event was great and I believe it was because the Sabi Wiri event happened to be held at the address of my dad’s old family’s home. Talking about coming together full circle.

Going Natural made People smiling and happy 

Now I am already looking forward to the next Sabi Wiri Event. If you are interested to have one in your city, community center or private space, just contact me. I’ll be happy to work with you and look forward hearing from you! For more photos see Going Natural Hair Care in Suriname