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This past October on Lifou, a double-hulled canoe was pushed into the coastal lagoon – a small act that represented a profoundly important moment.

It was the first launch of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in generations, an event that assembled the island’s primary tribal groups in a rare show of unity.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the past eight years, he has led a program that seeks to restore traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been constructed in an project designed to reconnect native Kanak communities with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “beginning of dialogue” around ocean rights and environmental policies.

Global Outreach

This past July, he visited France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for marine policies created in consultation with and by native populations that recognise their maritime heritage.

“Our ancestors always navigated the ocean. We lost that for a time,” Tikoure says. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Traditional vessels hold profound traditional meaning in New Caledonia. They once symbolised travel, interaction and clan alliances across islands, but those traditions declined under foreign occupation and outside cultural pressures.

Tradition Revival

The initiative began in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was considering how to restore heritage vessel construction methods. Tikoure collaborated with the government and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was born.

“The biggest challenge wasn’t cutting down trees, it was convincing people,” he says.

Project Achievements

The program sought to revive ancestral sailing methods, educate new craftspeople and use boat-building to enhance traditional heritage and island partnerships.

So far, the team has produced an exhibition, released a publication and enabled the building or renovation of around 30 canoes – from Goro to Ponerihouen.

Natural Resources

Different from many other island territories where forest clearing has diminished wood resources, New Caledonia still has appropriate timber for crafting substantial vessels.

“In other places, they often use modern composites. Locally, we can still craft from natural timber,” he states. “That represents all the difference.”

The boats created under the Kenu Waan Project combine Polynesian hull design with regional navigation methods.

Teaching Development

Starting recently, Tikoure has also been instructing maritime travel and traditional construction history at the local university.

“It’s the first time these topics are offered at graduate studies. This isn’t academic – this is knowledge I’ve experienced. I’ve sailed vast distances on these vessels. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness while accomplishing this.”

Island Cooperation

He traveled with the crew of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that traveled to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, from Fiji to here, it’s the same movement,” he says. “We’re restoring the sea collectively.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure travelled to Nice, France to present a “Kanak vision of the marine environment” when he had discussions with Macron and other leaders.

Before state and foreign officials, he argued for collaborative ocean management based on Indigenous traditions and local engagement.

“We must engage local populations – especially fishing communities.”

Current Development

Currently, when sailors from across the Pacific – from the Fijian islands, the Micronesian region and New Zealand – come to Lifou, they analyze boats collectively, adjust the structure and ultimately voyage together.

“We’re not simply replicating the ancient designs, we enable their progression.”

Comprehensive Vision

According to Tikoure, instructing mariners and advocating environmental policy are interrelated.

“The core concept concerns public engagement: who has the right to travel ocean waters, and what authority governs which activities take place there? Heritage boats function as a means to start that conversation.”