Authors: Ben Ruhe
Date Submitted: August 31, 2002
Article Type: Journal

A group of imaginative kite enthusiasts in France has for some years banded together as an association known as Au fil des Vents. The group is based in Pierrefeu, Reillanne, home of the group’s organizer, Philippe Cottenceau, well known for the strikingly beautiful kites he makes and flies at festivals around the world..

With a number of its members working as school teachers, Au fil des Vents has been able to dispatch its fliers during summer vacation to various foreign countries, such as Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and Guatemala, to investigate local traditions and conduct kite research projects. This ongoing work has produced a useful archive which the association makes available for historical, geographical, linguistic, technical, and poetic studies. The association views its work as not cultivating an old-fashioned image of the kite, but rather as leading to future kite creativity; this to be accomplished by classroom teaching and the holding of kitemaking workshops, among other methods.

As Cottenceau notes, kiteflying is an excellent means of expression. It leads to the acquisition of varied knowledge and skills through play. It provides an introduction to materials and tools, contributes to an understanding of our natural surroundings, and provokes discovery of distant lands and their cultures. It encourages communication without words. The multidisciplinary dimension of kiteflying and its capacity to bring people together provides a window on other worlds.

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