The second life of Cabrinha kites

Cabrinha's own Thomas Lanquetin and his father Thierry launched a unique program in Madagascar that doesn't only recycle old kites but support the local island community. 

In Madagascar, being a fisherman is a high-risk job. Fishermen ride unsteady boats made out of the local Balsa which can be weak. Dugout canoes are rigged with sails made of a patchwork of materials worn out by time - threatening to be torn apart any moment. They sail when the sun rises, far out with no land in sight - until they fished enough to subsist. More than once fishermen got lost out at sea due to their salty boats, unfavorable weather conditions or a whale surfacing unexpectedly. 

To help these men work in better conditions, Thierry and Thomas started to help with hand-sewed sails made out of kites and boat spinnakers. Cabrinha joined this project and provided transformed kites: cut and sewed back together, fitting the dimensions of the fishermen’s sails.

What started with 30 kites last year now gains momentum thanks to crowdfunding campaign that pays for the shipping of the kites from France and sewing tools. "We are going back to Madagascar in September and would like to bring hundred more kites, have them sewed into sails and deliver them to the villages", Thomas says. 

We are very happy to see this project growing and are looking forward to support more projects to give Cabrinha kites and gear a second life. 

Thierry and Thomas Lanquetin work with the non profit organization MDMAM (Main dans la main author du monde).