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This past October on Lifou island, a double-hulled canoe was pushed into the lagoon – a seemingly minor event that represented a profoundly important moment.

It was the maiden journey of a traditional canoe on Lifou in living memory, an occasion that brought together the island’s three chiefly clans in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Mariner and advocate Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the past eight years, he has overseen a project that aims to revive ancestral vessel construction in New Caledonia.

Many heritage vessels have been crafted in an initiative intended to reunite native Kanak communities with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure says the boats also help the “beginning of dialogue” around maritime entitlements and conservation measures.

Global Outreach

This past July, he visited France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for maritime regulations shaped with and by Indigenous communities that acknowledge their connection to the ocean.

“Our ancestors always crossed the sea. We forgot that knowledge for a while,” Tikoure explains. “Today we’re reclaiming it again.”

Traditional vessels hold significant historical importance in New Caledonia. They once symbolised travel, interaction and tribal partnerships across islands, but those traditions faded under foreign occupation and religious conversion efforts.

Cultural Reclamation

This mission began in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was looking at how to bring back heritage vessel construction methods. Tikoure collaborated with the authorities and after two years the boat building initiative – known as Project Kenu Waan – was established.

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

Program Successes

The initiative aimed to restore heritage voyaging practices, educate new craftspeople and use vessel construction to strengthen traditional heritage and inter-island cooperation.

So far, the team has created a display, published a book and facilitated the construction or restoration of nearly three dozen boats – from the southern region to Ponerihouen.

Resource Benefits

In contrast to many other island territories where deforestation has limited wood resources, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for carving large hulls.

“In other places, they often employ marine plywood. Here, we can still carve solid logs,” he says. “This creates a crucial distinction.”

The boats created under the initiative combine traditional boat forms with regional navigation methods.

Teaching Development

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been instructing seafaring and heritage building techniques at the local university.

“This marks the initial occasion these topics are taught at advanced education. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve sailed vast distances on traditional boats. I’ve experienced profound emotion while accomplishing this.”

Pacific Partnerships

He voyaged with the team of the Uto ni Yalo, the Pacific vessel that traveled to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“Throughout the region, including our location, this represents a unified effort,” he explains. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage collectively.”

Political Engagement

In July, Tikoure journeyed to the European location to present a “Traditional understanding of the marine environment” when he met with Macron and government representatives.

In front of government and overseas representatives, he pushed for cooperative sea policies based on local practices and participation.

“You have to involve local populations – most importantly fishing communities.”

Current Development

Today, when sailors from various island nations – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and Aotearoa – visit Lifou, they analyze boats in cooperation, adjust the structure and eventually navigate in unison.

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

Comprehensive Vision

For Tikoure, instructing mariners and advocating environmental policy are interrelated.

“It’s all about public engagement: what permissions exist to move across the sea, and who decides what happens on it? The canoe serve as a method to begin that dialogue.”