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During the autumn month of October on Lifou island, a ancient-style canoe was set afloat in the turquoise waters – a small act that represented a profoundly important moment.

It was the first launch of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in many decades, an event that assembled the island’s main family lineages 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 works to resurrect traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been built in an initiative aimed at reconnecting Indigenous Kanak people with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure states the boats also promote the “beginning of dialogue” around maritime entitlements and conservation measures.

International Advocacy

This past July, he journeyed to France and met President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for ocean governance developed alongside and by local tribes that recognise their relationship with the sea.

“Our ancestors always crossed the sea. We forgot that knowledge for a period,” Tikoure states. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Heritage boats hold profound traditional meaning in New Caledonia. They once symbolised travel, exchange and tribal partnerships across islands, but those practices faded under foreign occupation and missionary influences.

Cultural Reclamation

The initiative commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was looking at how to restore traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure worked with the administration and following a two-year period the vessel restoration program – known as Project Kenu Waan – was launched.

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

Project Achievements

The Kenu Waan project aimed to restore heritage voyaging practices, educate new craftspeople and use boat-building to strengthen cultural identity and island partnerships.

To date, the organization has created a display, released a publication and facilitated the construction or restoration of nearly three dozen boats – from the far south to the northern shoreline.

Resource Benefits

Unlike many other oceanic nations where deforestation has diminished lumber availability, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for constructing major boats.

“Elsewhere, they often employ synthetic materials. Here, we can still work with whole trees,” he states. “That represents all the difference.”

The vessels built under the initiative combine Polynesian hull design with Melanesian rigging.

Educational Expansion

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been teaching maritime travel and traditional construction history at the educational institution.

“This marks the initial occasion these subjects are included at master’s level. This isn’t academic – this is knowledge I’ve experienced. I’ve navigated major waters on these canoes. I’ve experienced profound emotion while accomplishing this.”

Island Cooperation

He voyaged with the crew of the traditional boat, the Fijian canoe that sailed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“Throughout the region, through various islands, this represents a unified effort,” he states. “We’re taking back the maritime heritage as a community.”

Policy Advocacy

During the summer, Tikoure visited the European location to share a “Indigenous perspective of the marine environment” when he had discussions with Macron and other leaders.

Before state and overseas representatives, he pushed for collaborative ocean management based on Kanak custom and community involvement.

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

Contemporary Evolution

Today, when sailors from throughout the region – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and New Zealand – arrive in Lifou, they examine vessels collectively, modify the design and ultimately navigate in unison.

“We don’t just copy the traditional forms, we help them develop.”

Comprehensive Vision

According to Tikoure, teaching navigation and supporting ecological regulations are linked.

“The core concept concerns community participation: who is entitled to navigate marine territories, and who decides which activities take place there? Traditional vessels is a way to start that conversation.”