Meaning ‘broken chains’ in Sranantongo, a language spoken in Suriname, Keti Koti commemorates the 1863 abolition of slavery in Suriname and the Dutch Antilles, celebrating the people who fought for abolition, and the rich cultures that have persevered and flourished. 

Suriname is a patchwork and one of the most ethnically diverse countries in South America due to centuries of forced migration of populations. Today, this diversity is at the heart of the country’s cultural, religious, culinary and linguistic fabric. And it is constantly evolving with younger generations and new waves of migration from many varied backgrounds, including refugees from Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba who have sought asylum in the country, due to persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity and political repression. Unfortunately today, over 60% of the population lives below the poverty line, and women and girls are particularly vulnerable.

This is why Filling Pieces and KLABU came together to initiate a project that could have lasting positive impact in Suriname. During Keti Koti 2023, many people supported our joint efforts by wearing the specially designed 'United Spirit' shirt. To mark Keti Koti in 2024 and 2025 and attract more supporters for the project, new capsule collections were released, leading up to the project’s launch in October 2025!

Community Tennis Suriname has been running since 2012, and serves as a focal point for local unity, empowerment and community engagement. With great plans for the future but limited means and existing facilities and grounds in need of renovation, we chose to dedicate our collaboration with Filling Pieces to supporting CTS. Our goal from then on was to find ways to reach more young tennis players and enable them to improve their skills and progress at the club.

CTS has greatly inspired KLABU with their hands-on, community first and grassroots approach. Their mission is to make tennis accessible for all, regardless of the socio-economic background of the athletes. But one of the barriers to this is the lack of quality facilities to train.This is why we decided collaboratively to build a brand new tennis court where current players but also many more young people from Commewijne could discover the sport and train in the right conditions. Today, we are proud to say that, together with CTS’ athletes and the founder of CTS, Salome Veerman, this has been achieved!

After building the court, together with local artist Fabian de Randamie, we held workshops with the kids of CTS to create a design for their dream tennis court. 

The artwork represents the vibrant spirit of Commewijne that CTS so beautifully celebrates, and helps create an uplifting and welcoming space where children from the neighbourhood want to be. In addition to the colourful tennis court, a bright orange KLABU sports library enables the tennis players of CTS to enjoy tennis lessons on a fresh and safe court with quality sports equipment, as well as play football, table tennis and badminton when they want something different. 

This impact is thanks to the efforts of everyone who has purchased Filling Pieces x KLABU jerseys in the past years. This clubhouse is also further supported by On’s social impact program, Right To Run, as part of their multi-year commitment to supporting KLABU’s mission to build sports clubhouses around the world and On’s overarching mission to ignite the human spirit through movement.

Wearing either the Kids or Adult Shirt or the Cap below, you'll be helping the further development of this wonderful project to become something even bigger and better. The collection is available online and through our KLABU and Filling Pieces stores.