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In October on Lifou island, a double-hulled canoe was launched into the coastal lagoon – a small act that marked a highly meaningful moment.

It was the maiden journey of a heritage boat on Lifou in living memory, an gathering that assembled the island’s main family lineages in a exceptional demonstration of solidarity.

Mariner and advocate Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the last eight years, he has overseen a project that seeks to restore traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been built in an effort intended to reunite native Kanak communities with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure states the boats also promote the “start of conversation” around sea access rights and environmental policies.

Global Outreach

In July, he visited France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, calling for ocean governance shaped with and by local tribes that honor their connection to the ocean.

“Our ancestors always navigated the ocean. We abandoned that practice for a period,” Tikoure explains. “Today we’re reclaiming it again.”

Heritage boats hold significant historical importance in New Caledonia. They once symbolised mobility, trade and tribal partnerships across islands, but those customs declined under colonisation and religious conversion efforts.

Tradition Revival

His journey started in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was looking at how to restore traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure collaborated with the authorities and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as Project Kenu Waan – was born.

“The hardest part didn’t involve wood collection, it was convincing people,” he says.

Project Achievements

The program worked to bring back traditional navigation techniques, train young builders and use canoe-making to strengthen cultural identity and island partnerships.

So far, the organization has created a display, published a book and supported the creation or repair of approximately thirty vessels – from the southern region to the northeastern coast.

Resource Benefits

Different from many other Pacific islands where forest clearing has reduced lumber availability, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for crafting substantial vessels.

“In other places, they often use synthetic materials. Locally, we can still carve solid logs,” he says. “It makes a crucial distinction.”

The canoes created under the initiative combine traditional boat forms with Melanesian rigging.

Teaching Development

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been teaching maritime travel and ancestral craft methods at the educational institution.

“For the first time ever these subjects are offered at graduate studies. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve experienced. I’ve navigated major waters on traditional boats. I’ve experienced profound emotion doing it.”

Island Cooperation

Tikoure sailed with the team of the traditional boat, the Pacific vessel that journeyed to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“Throughout the region, through various islands, this represents a unified effort,” he says. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage collectively.”

Policy Advocacy

This past July, Tikoure journeyed to the French city to share a “Traditional understanding of the marine environment” when he conferred with Macron and additional officials.

Addressing official and foreign officials, he pushed for shared maritime governance based on Indigenous traditions and participation.

“You have to involve local populations – particularly those who live from fishing.”

Modern Adaptation

Today, when navigators from throughout the region – from Fiji, Micronesia and New Zealand – come to Lifou, they examine vessels in cooperation, refine the construction and eventually voyage together.

“We’re not simply replicating the old models, we make them evolve.”

Holistic Approach

For Tikoure, teaching navigation and advocating environmental policy are linked.

“The fundamental issue involves how we involve people: who has the right to travel ocean waters, and who determines which activities take place on it? The canoe function as a means to begin that dialogue.”