For people with dementia it is important to smell, feel and admire the colour and shape of the plants. Tinde van Andel explained the beauty of it and the importance for people with dementia, especially in a country like Suriname. Often they remember old memories or important rituals and that de-stress them.
Suriname is a country with both a large cultural diversity as a high biodiversity. The Surinamese jungle has a wealth of medicinal herbs, but over the centuries brought the African slaves and Asian indentured labourers also plenty of useful plants with them. Indians, Creoles, Maroons, Hindustani, and Javanese: every ethnic group has its own religion, language, rituals and ideas about illness and health. Tinde van Andel explained the beauty of it and the importance for people with dementia, especially in a country like Suriname.