Humans of Tropical Africa : IX

 
Dear friends, 

We are meant to be great, experience emotions like never before, and continue to grow through any challenge. Our journey with you is never ending. In the ninth episode we have the privilege to introduce three friends and their beautiful stories. Meet Dhena and Rick and Koen. 

Arendina Dhena Florance

Dhena Arendina Florance, a 21 year old world citizen and entrepreneur who is driven by chaos, curiosity and actually just good vibes. She was brought up by people from different cultures and religions, all with their own unique norms and values. This is what she appreciate in people - their interesting differences and beliefs. 

Now Dhena is growing older and expanding her marketing, communication and multimedia agency in creative industries. She appreciate brands with a good story and the ones that add a humanitarian value to their products or services at the same time. Value-based marketing is what she preach. That is also one of the reasons she recently bought a piece of Tropical Africa. 

Dhena loves culture and travelling. Besides South America and Europe she also lived in South Africa for a period of her life. Unfortunately, like any other human being, she has responsibilities which make that she can’t travel around all the time and sometimes needs to keep her feet on the ground instead of taking off to cloud nine 24/7.

 
(@arendinaflorance)

“I choose to wear Tropical Africa as it reminds me of my home in South Africa. I like to live minimalistic and don’t like ‘big things’. I never wear jewellery and hardly buy new clothing. If I did not have to, I probably wouldn’t wear clothes at all. I like to be free and don’t like wearing accessories or even fabric on my skin. Besides I find it unpractical, I find appearance unimportant and always focus on the inner story. 

When I wear my Tropical Africa piece, I get reminded of how important it is to stay close to yourself, appreciate nature and live a free life.”

Rick Weldam

Rick Weldam (24 year) is chasing his dream to travel the world with his friend. At the moment they are located in Thailand and in the upcoming months he will move further through Asia, and perhaps other continents. His next destination is Malaysia. 

In The Netherlands his home base is Utrecht. Last summer he graduated for his study Integral Safety Science and he is proud to call himself Safety Expert now. During and after his study he was active within the policy organization, but two months ago he signed his resign letter to chase his dream life - HOW BRAVE IS THIS.

The first thing that he packed where his outfits from Tropical Africa. He thinks the fit is magnificent and he loves the authenticity - which makes him want to wear them every single day. He purchased both festival kit’s The Lusaka and The Luanda. When his friend saw these outfits, he decided to buy The Luanda directly. On their trip together, they walk regularly with the same outfits and the comments of the local community are hilarious. They say it is amazing - just like they do. And we of course :) 

Last summer it was his favorite festival outfit and was excited to wear TA regularly. He is mainly going to techno parties like Dockyard and Into the Woods, but also dances regularly at thuishaven on Sundays. 

(@rickweldam)

“On Into the Woods I met the Tropical Africa crew and chatted for a while with them - this felt so familiar. It makes me really happy to see that more and more humans get to know Tropical Africa and the underlying message of the brand - the contribution to humans in need. The fact that we are part of this process really appeals to me. We, as the customer, are involved and informed in a really good way. 

I am a colorful person and Tropical Africa fits perfect to this. And an extra advantage: the outfits are limited and exclusive. I rarely encounter now someone with the same outfit as me on a festival. I can’t wait to the next drop. I hope there is another festival kit I love, so I can wear it proudly to the festivals next summer.”

Koen Valkenburg

Koen Valkenburg is a true festival-lover, especially in the techno scene. In the summer period he visits many festivals and in the winter he is a snowboard teacher in Austria, where he currently lives to teach people from all over the world his skills. He is enjoying life to the the fullest. 

Funny fact: Koen is a close friend of Stijn from last episode, connections are real and you turn into our ambassadors! He is also a true ambassador of Rate The Rave, the platform from Stijn. We can definitely say we became friends: his energy, positivity and craziness are contagious. This picture in The Mbini says a lot. La Reve, Strafwerk, Into the Woods are just one of the many festivals we went completely loose together. 

(@koenvalkenburg)

“I’m really impressed by the creativity of Tropical Africa and the vision. It matters to me that a huge part of my purchase will contribute to a good cause and it makes me happy to see that this is actually happening by the constructions of classrooms, providing meals and supporting kids schools. Besides, I feel so committed to Tropical Africa because of their personal touch on every aspect. I bought multiple outfits and keep continue to do this. I stand out during the festivals and receive awesome compliments. I can’t wait to hit a festival again.”

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Interested to be part of our ‘Humans of Tropical Africa’ page? If you happen to see us at a festival or anywhere else, please do not hesitate to come and say hi, we would love to meet you and know who you are.