Kente, Kawung & Kroepoek Heavyweight Tote

Belanda Hitam (Black Dutchmen) refers to the approximately 3,000 West African soldiers—mostly Ashanti and Fante from Elmina, present-day Ghana—recruited into the KNIL between 1831 and 1872. Stationed in their own garrison community in Purworejo, Central Java, these men intermarried with Javanese and Indo women, creating a vibrant, deeply rooted Afro-Indo culture. In the aftermath of Indonesian independence, many of these families were repatriated to the Netherlands in the 1950s, settling in municipalities like Vianen. This design playfully honors that unique tri-cultural lineage. It elevates the deep-fried, ubiquitous crunch of kroepoek to the same revered status as the Kente cloth of their Ghanaian forefathers and the Kawung batik of their Javanese foremothers—because in an Indo family, food is the ultimate cultural anchor.