About Kené Kaya
Kené Kaya’s collections are inspired by Peru’s vast indigenous cultural and natural wealth of the Peruvian Amazon, combining ancestral embroidery traditions with premium materials. Our designs are inspired by the native indigenous veneration of Mother Earth and Peru’s native plant medicine, ayahuasca, as well as the sacred geometric patterns known as ‘kené’ often seen in ayahuasca visions by the artisans themselves when they consume the mother plant.
In 2008, kené was declared by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture as a symbol of ancestral identity and part of the national cultural heritage of Peru, to be protected, in order to ensure their cultural continuity, along with ayahuasca. Kené in the Shipibo-Konibo language means “design” and refers to the design system of the Shipibo-Konibo people, an ethnic minority in Peru. Embroidery techniques of kené are passed down generations of women through rituals and the use of plant medicines. Each pattern has a different meaning. More than just lines and geometric shapes, kené represents the knowledge, culture, history, of the native indigenous group, revealing the origins and relationship between the Shipibo-Konibo community and their territory. The kenés are sung when the artisans go across the lines with the finger over the fabrics singing shamanic healing chants.
Kené Kaya is an ethical contemporary fashion brand that uses Peruvian ancestral embroidery techniques in the creation of our pieces.
We work with our female Shipibo-Konibo artisans on reclaiming traditional embroidery techniques and empowering the memory of Peru’s native indigenous traditions. Creating kené artwork has been a means of both healing and generating income throughout times of hardship for the Shipibo-Konibo people of Peru. Purchasing and wearing these pieces not only shares their artform, heritage, and culture with the world, but also economically helps the artisans who created them.
Kené Kaya was founded in 2019 by Alessandra Durand. With a specialty in International Relations and Development Economics, Alessandra authored two dissertations on corporate social responsibility in the private sector in Peru at Stanford and Oxford University and developed an interest in the potential of public-private partnerships to contribute to the greater good in her home country. After working at non-profits and consulting Fortune 500 companies around the world for 8 years, Alessandra founded Kené Kaya with the hopes of helping the Shipibo-Konibo tribe and, through sharing their artwork with the world, gain greater visibility within the country in the realm of indigenous rights. Since inception, Kené Kaya has been a ‘people and planet first’ company, focusing efforts on first on supporting the Shipib-Konibo community in Lima.