Pop quiz: is cynara a plant, saint, or star?
If you answered ‘plant,’ you are correct! (If you answered ‘saint,’ you are partially correct...read on.) Cynara, pronounced sin-NAR-rah, is a genus of plants that includes the artichoke, which have layers of thistle-like buds surrounding an inner core. I chose cynara for my business name because its multilayered composition represents the multifaceted complexity of contemporary development problems as well as the intersecting layers of our identities that influence and are influenced by our own development.
There is also a Saint Senara, pronounced the same way as cynara. Saint Senara has a fascinating story that involves being thrown into the sea in a barrel while pregnant and then being saved by an angel.
I did not know about Saint Senara when I chose my business name, but I love the affiliation. I intentionally chose cynara because it is a feminine-sounding name. It is my way of rejecting the hypermasculine names and acronyms dominating the consulting and development contracting sector.
~ Lindsey