Korai X Kente Bringing New Life To Kente

Kòrai - Territorio, Sviluppo e Cultura, a Sicilian Cooperative Company of Young Professionals, is the new industry changing the face of Kente fashion in Ghana and globally with their eco-crafted and eco-designed Korai x Kente (KxK).

They are boosting the local Ghanaian Kente through the KxK project to meet the Sicilian culture and tradition by incorporating unique and innovative designed objects aimed at amplifying the cultural heritage, integration and social innovation between Ghana and Sicily.

Based on inclusion and social innovative themes, which include the creation of a network, the “KxK Network Lab”, consists of Kòrai, the weavers of the village of Bonwire in Ghana, and Sicilian makers made up of eco-designers and Sicilian master craftsmen manufacturing such products.

Speaking on the KxK project, Susanna Gristina, architect PhD and Ceo of Kòrai, said: “We want to network the magical skill of the weavers of the Ghanaian villages with the know-how of the Sicilian craftsmen, both custodians of manual and artistic skills, which have been protected and passed on, and make use of the beautiful oral history, materials, techniques and processes to revive the ancient traditions, tangible and intangible heritage and the local economy as well.”

The cooperation hopes to project even further, the Kente Fabric to the world as a great expression of African history and tradition, as well as promote the knowledge of the fabric linked to the Ghanaian cultural identity by combining the unique artistic process of the craft with that of the Sicilian culture through innovative creation and design.

By integrating both systems, the project seeks to promote a cultural synchronization; respecting also the individuality that makes them unique, and encourage Ghanaian and Sicilian entrepreneurship through a working cooperation for the development of each other's business realities; thereby promoting social innovation and inter-culturalism.

Currently the company also produces and sells female and male clothes, hats, bags, belts, scarves, jewelry, T-shirts and other accessories, made with the most precious African fabrics and the expertise of both Ghanaian and Sicilian parties to make the most successful cultural brand in contemporary times. Discover all the beautiful creations at www.koraixkente.com/en.

About KxK
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 that are strictly handmade, unique and limited editions, made with the Kente cloth. The purpose is the revival of the ancient know-how and craft traditions of both cultures: the Ghanaian and the Sicilian one.

KxK is the meeting place of two cultures that results in traditional manufacturing and design. They are the expression of the union of people and an instrument of promotion of "diversity" and "community".

KxK is the "KxK Network Lab", a laboratory of ideas and creativity, joining entrepreneurial and craft excellences in both countries.

The KxK Network Lab: Dress Collection
The KxK Network Lab benefits from the cooperation of Fashion Designers like the Ghanaian Smark Klodin to design and create dress collections both in Kente and in printed African fabrics and wax.

Contact
Korai-Territorio, Sviluppo e Culture – Società Cooperative

Email: [email protected] ; [email protected]
Website: www.koraixkente.com/en