ABOUT KxK
"KxK - Korai for Kente" comes from the intuition of two young Sicilian organisations: Korai - Territory, Development and Culture, a Sicilian all-female cooperative, involved in the enhancement of Cultural Heritage and territories, and Ghana Sicily Business Forum, the network for the internationalisation of Sicilian firms in Ghana.
THE PROJECT
KxK is a project of eco-design & eco-craft promoting values of social innovation and interculturalism. It focuses on Kente, the precious handmade fabric worn to create the robes of the Kings of Ghana. KxK is the meeting place between the skills of Kente weavers living in Ghanaian villages and the know-how of Sicilian craftsmen.The result is a collection of design objects...
KxK NETWORK LAB
The KxK Network LAB is a laboratory chain in network where eco-craft makers from Ghana, from Sicily and the Ghanaian community in Sicily will be involved in the production of design objects strictly handmade, unique and limited series. Such objects are made with Kente fabric, the traditional Ashanti Kings' cloth of the ancient and namesake empire in Ghana.
ABOUT KENTE
Legend has it that about 375 years ago two brothers from the Bonwire village, in the ancient Ashanti Kingdom in Ghana, inspired by a spider weaving its web, wove a strip with geometric patterns. The fabric had an infinite variety of colours and geometries. It was called "kente", which means "basket", as it evokes the weave. It was of such beauty that it became "the fabric for the robes of Kings".
CHARITY
The Ashanti Development micro-credit program for women was started in 2009 by a group of experts who have studied at the school of the economist Mohammed Yunus and set similar programs in many parts of Africa. When the women participating in the first microcredit program were asked to choose a name for their project, they decided to call it Yendaakye that in the Ashanti language means "Our Future"...