Our Name

The meaning of Kente Circle:

The name Kente Circle evolved from a process that was facilitated by people in the community with a goal and desire to examine and illuminate the connectedness between individuals, families and communities.

The word Kente comes from West Africa’s Kente Cloth. Kente Cloth is very colorful pieces of fabric that are hand woven. According to the tradition of how Kente Cloth is created, the meaning of each piece is different depending on what parts (county or reign) of West Africa it was born or made. The colors of Kente Cloth are told to have different meaning and symbolism that is often connected to the community or village it originated from. Kente cloth is made as strips with a variety of colors and a unique woven design that sets each piece apart. Each Kente Cloth comes with its own story.

For us this Cloth is representative of how we see ourselves, the people we serve in therapy and the people we are living with in the communities where we reside. How Kente Cloth is made and what it symbolizes exemplifies how we (Kente Circle) see the individuals, families and communities that we are part of. Each person comes with his or her own experiences (colors) in life that tell their story. Symbolically each strip of Kente Cloth represents an individual. Communities are represented by a number of strips being sewn together to create a larger piece. This piece illustrates a picture about how people are connected with a shared story.

The Circle part of our name represents our belief that there is a circular nature to life. Furthermore, the Circle is also symbolic of the fact that it does not matter where you start, we all end up were we are meant to be; the Circle embodies the cycle of life and how patterns often repeat themselves to give new opportunities.