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During the autumn month of October on Lifou island, a double-hulled canoe was pushed into the coastal lagoon – a simple gesture that signified a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the maiden journey of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in generations, an gathering that brought together the island’s primary tribal groups in a rare show of unity.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was 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 crafted in an project designed to reconnect Indigenous Kanak people with their maritime heritage. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “start of conversation” around ocean rights and environmental policies.

Diplomatic Efforts

During the summer month of July, he visited France and met President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for ocean governance shaped with and by local tribes that honor their connection to the ocean.

“Previous generations always navigated the ocean. We abandoned that practice for a time,” Tikoure states. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Heritage boats hold significant historical significance in New Caledonia. They once symbolised movement, exchange and family cooperations across islands, but those practices declined under foreign occupation and outside cultural pressures.

Cultural Reclamation

The initiative commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was looking at how to reintroduce ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure partnered with the government and after two years the vessel restoration program – known as Project Kenu Waan – was launched.

“The hardest part was not harvesting timber, it was gaining local support,” he says.

Initiative Accomplishments

The Kenu Waan project sought to revive traditional navigation techniques, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to reinforce traditional heritage and regional collaboration.

So far, the group has created a display, released a publication and facilitated the construction or restoration of approximately thirty vessels – from the far south to Ponerihouen.

Natural Resources

Unlike many other island territories where deforestation has diminished timber supplies, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for crafting substantial vessels.

“Elsewhere, they often use modern composites. Here, we can still craft from natural timber,” he states. “It makes a significant advantage.”

The boats constructed under the program combine Polynesian hull design with local sailing systems.

Educational Expansion

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been instructing navigation and traditional construction history at the local university.

“It’s the first time this knowledge are taught at master’s level. This isn’t academic – this is knowledge I’ve experienced. I’ve crossed oceans on these canoes. I’ve cried tears of joy doing it.”

Regional Collaboration

He traveled with the crew of the Uto ni Yalo, the Pacific vessel that traveled to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, through various islands, it’s the same movement,” he says. “We’re reclaiming the maritime heritage as a community.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure visited Nice, France to present a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he had discussions with Macron and government representatives.

Addressing official and international delegates, he advocated for shared maritime governance based on Kanak custom and local engagement.

“It’s essential to include these communities – especially people dependent on marine resources.”

Modern Adaptation

Now, when navigators from across the Pacific – from Fiji, Micronesia and Aotearoa – visit Lifou, they study canoes in cooperation, adjust the structure and finally navigate in unison.

“We’re not simply replicating the old models, we enable their progression.”

Comprehensive Vision

For Tikoure, instructing mariners and promoting conservation measures are interrelated.

“The core concept concerns public engagement: who is entitled to move across the sea, and what authority governs what occurs on it? Heritage boats is a way to initiate that discussion.”