The Mama Baranka Tour is not your typical city walk. It’s a decolonial journey through Amsterdam’s hidden histories, tracing the resilience of Afro-Caribbean communities and other voices too often left out.
Co-created with Elvira Semmoh (Mama Baranka Foundation), Nelson Carrilho (sculptor and cultural guardian), and Robin van Erven-Dorens (history storyteller), this experience uncovers stories of migration, identity and resistance, culminating at the symbolic Mama Baranka sculpture, created in memory of Kerwin Duinmeijer, a teenager murdered in a racially motivated attack.
Whether you’re rooted in this city or discovering it anew, this tour offers a new lens on truth, remembrance and belonging.
The Mama Baranka Tour is an inspiring, behind-the-scenes journey through Amsterdam, uncovering stories often left out of mainstream narratives. As we move through historical sites and present-day landmarks, you’ll hear about Afro-Caribbean memory, migration, cultural resistance and the people who helped shape the soul of the city.
This is not your typical city tour, it’s a layered exploration of history, identity and belonging. The experience culminates at the powerful Mama Baranka sculpture, honouring heritage, resilience and remembrance through art and story.
The Mama Baranka Tour takes you on a journey of discovery, exploring overlooked communities, resilience and cultural identity in the city.
We begin at the studio of Nelson Carrilho, sculptor and cultural guardian behind Mama Baranka. Get an intimate look into his artistic journey and the meaning behind his public artworks.
Together with your guides, explore key locations that highlight untold narratives — from colonial traces to migration histories and community resistance.
The tour ends at Mama Baranka in Vondelpark, where we reflect on the journey, its impact, and the power of representation.
Join us for an eye-opening experience that reshapes how you see the city and whose stories it holds.
This tour is not about tourist landmarks, it’s about the people, communities and stories that have shaped the city from the margins.
This ~2,5-hour tour covers approximately 5 km of walking, you’ll be invited into a deeper way of seeing Amsterdam, through stories often left untold.
With a maximum of 15 participants, the experience stays intimate and reflective, allowing for meaningful engagement and open conversation.
Tours are offered in Dutch or English, depending on the group. You’ll be informed of the language beforehand.
If the weather isn’t ideal but still manageable, the tour will partly take place indoors at Nelson Carrilho’s studio and follow an adapted route through the Jordaan and Westerpark. Mama Baranka will not be visited on this route, but her story remains central, told through a different lens, along different streets.
In case of very bad weather predictions, the tour may be rescheduled.
This hosted walking tour includes:
A 2 to 2.5-hour guided experience through Amsterdam
Insights and stories shared by Nelson Carrilho and Robin van Erven-Dorens
Coffee, tea and small snacks
A closing ritual at the Mama Baranka sculpture in Vondelpark
10% of all proceeds go directly to the Mama Baranka Foundation, supporting remembrance work, cultural healing and decolonial education.
Interested in a custom Mama Baranka Tour? Mail contact@lifeofgini.nl for more info.
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Cities are full of hidden stories but not all are told. The Mama Baranka Tour takes you beyond the mainstream, into the voices and experiences of overlooked communities that have shaped Amsterdam’s cultural and historical landscape.
This decolonial walking experience is co-created by artist Nelson Carrilho, storyteller Robin van Erven Dorens, and cultural educator Elvira Semmoh of the Mama Baranka Foundation. Together, they offer a powerful exploration of identity, resilience and remembrance, grounded in lived experience.
The journey begins at Studio Nelson Carrilho, where you’ll gain exclusive insight into his artistic process and the deeper purpose of public sculpture. Along the walk, Robin and Elvira guide you through layered histories of migration, activism, and the shaping of public memory.
A central story in this tour is that of Kerwin Duinmeijer, a 15-year-old boy murdered in a racially motivated attack in 1983. His death remains a painful but essential reminder of the realities of racism in the Netherlands. The tour concludes at Mama Baranka in Vondelpark, the sculpture Nelson created in Kerwin’s honour a monument to resilience and a call to remember.
Originally organised by Elvira Semmoh, Nina Herdigein and Virginia Scheele in collaboration with Pakhuis de Zwijger for the Week Against Racism, this tour continues through GINI’s community-rooted mission. It remains a living act of remembrance, education and cultural healing.
A portion of all profits goes directly to the Mama Baranka Foundation, supporting ongoing work in decolonial education, cultural storytelling and community remembrance.
Step into the stories that shaped the city and change the way you see it.
GINI believes that travel should remember, restore and reconnect us to stories that matter.
It should be a way to engage deeply with place, honour the past, and support a more just and inclusive future, especially by helping to rewrite the narratives that have long been distorted or erased.
That’s why we offer journeys and experiences that go beyond the surface, rooted in community, shaped by lived histories and carried by the power of decolonial travel & storytelling.
All our experiences are built on three pillars:
Do-good / Engage – Every journey and experience invites conscious participation, awareness and cultural respect
Support through donations – A portion of profits supports grassroots foundations and local initiatives
Cultural remembrance – We create space for truth, healing and intergenerational memory
The Mama Baranka Tour is deeply important to us. It embodies all three pillars, with storytelling that disrupts silence, direct support to the Mama Baranka Foundation and a powerful act of remembrance and resistance through public art and collective reflection.
This is not just a tour. It’s part of a wider movement to decentre dominant histories, to see differently and to walk with more awareness.
This is what GINI stands for: travel that decolonises, connects and truly leaves an impact!
This tour is for anyone who wants to explore Amsterdam through a different lens, one that centres hidden histories, cultural resilience and decolonial storytelling. Whether you’re a local, a visitor, or someone reconnecting with ancestral roots, this experience invites open minds, reflective hearts and a willingness to see the city beyond the mainstream.
No! Whether you’re a local or visiting for the first time, this tour provides new insights into overlooked histories and communities.
The tour lasts approximately ~2,5 hours, including storytelling stops and reflections.
We’ll walk approximately 5 km through the city center. If this is too challenging, please email us at contact@lifeofgini.nl to discuss whether we can adjust the tour to your needs.
The tour is co-hosted by artist Nelson Carrilho and storyteller Robin van Erven Dorens, bringing together art, history and lived experiences.
We begin at Studio Nelson Carrilho and end at Mama Baranka in Vondelpark.
The tour involves city walking, but we aim to be as accessible as possible. If you have specific needs, please reach out so we can explore options together.
Yes! A portion of the profits is donated to the Mama Baranka Foundation, supporting its mission to keep these stories alive.
Since we’re in the Netherlands, we recommend bringing comfortable shoes and rain gear. In case of severe weather predictions, the tour may be rescheduled.
Step into an experience that inspires change, book your GINI experience today!
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