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During the autumn month of October on Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was set afloat in the turquoise waters – a seemingly minor event that represented a highly meaningful moment.

It was the maiden journey of a traditional canoe on Lifou in generations, 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 past eight years, he has led a initiative that aims to revive traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been constructed in an effort intended to reunite native Kanak communities with their maritime heritage. Tikoure says the boats also help the “beginning of dialogue” around sea access rights and ecological regulations.

International Advocacy

In July, he visited France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for maritime regulations created in consultation with and by Indigenous communities that recognise their connection to the ocean.

“Forefathers always traveled by water. We lost that for a while,” Tikoure states. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Heritage boats hold deep cultural importance in New Caledonia. They once represented movement, interaction and clan alliances across islands, but those practices faded under foreign occupation and outside cultural pressures.

Heritage Restoration

This mission started in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was exploring how to reintroduce heritage vessel construction methods. Tikoure partnered with the authorities and after two years the boat building initiative – known as Project Kenu Waan – was launched.

“The hardest part didn’t involve cutting down trees, it was convincing people,” he notes.

Program Successes

The Kenu Waan project worked to bring back heritage voyaging practices, mentor apprentice constructors and use boat-building to enhance cultural identity and inter-island cooperation.

To date, the team has created a display, released a publication and enabled the creation or repair of approximately thirty vessels – from the far south to Ponerihouen.

Resource Benefits

Unlike many other oceanic nations where tree loss has diminished lumber availability, New Caledonia still has appropriate timber for carving large hulls.

“There, they often work with marine plywood. Locally, we can still work with whole trees,” he states. “This creates a significant advantage.”

The canoes built under the program merge traditional boat forms with local sailing systems.

Teaching Development

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

“It’s the first time these topics are included at graduate studies. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve crossed oceans on traditional boats. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness while accomplishing this.”

Pacific Partnerships

Tikoure sailed with the crew of the Uto ni Yalo, the Fijian canoe that sailed to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, from Fiji to here, it’s the same movement,” he explains. “We’re taking back the maritime heritage collectively.”

Policy Advocacy

This past July, Tikoure visited the French city to present a “Indigenous perspective of the marine environment” when he met with Macron and government representatives.

In front of government and international delegates, he argued for shared maritime governance based on local practices and local engagement.

“It’s essential to include them – most importantly fishing communities.”

Modern Adaptation

Now, when sailors from various island nations – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and Aotearoa – arrive in Lifou, they study canoes collectively, modify the design and finally sail side by side.

“We don’t just copy the ancient designs, we help them develop.”

Integrated Mission

In his view, instructing mariners and advocating environmental policy are interrelated.

“The core concept concerns how we involve people: who has the right to navigate marine territories, and who decides what happens on it? Traditional vessels is a way to initiate that discussion.”