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In October on Lifou, a double-hulled canoe was pushed into the turquoise waters – a seemingly minor event that signified a highly meaningful moment.

It was the first launch of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in generations, an event that brought together the island’s primary tribal groups in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has led a program that seeks to restore traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Many heritage vessels have been crafted in an initiative aimed at reconnecting Indigenous Kanak people with their maritime heritage. Tikoure states the boats also facilitate the “start of conversation” around maritime entitlements and ecological regulations.

International Advocacy

During the summer month of July, he visited France and met President Emmanuel Macron, calling for marine policies developed alongside and by native populations that recognise their connection to the ocean.

“Our ancestors always traveled by water. We lost that for a period,” Tikoure explains. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Heritage boats hold profound traditional significance in New Caledonia. They once represented travel, interaction and tribal partnerships across islands, but those customs declined under foreign occupation and outside cultural pressures.

Cultural Reclamation

This mission started in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was looking at how to restore ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure collaborated with the administration and two years later the boat building initiative – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was launched.

“The biggest challenge was not wood collection, it was persuading communities,” he notes.

Project Achievements

The initiative aimed to restore traditional navigation techniques, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to reinforce cultural identity and inter-island cooperation.

To date, the group has organized a showcase, released a publication and enabled the construction or restoration of around 30 canoes – from the southern region to Ponerihouen.

Material Advantages

In contrast to many other Pacific islands where deforestation has diminished wood resources, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for constructing major boats.

“In other places, they often employ marine plywood. Locally, we can still carve solid logs,” he states. “It makes a crucial distinction.”

The canoes created under the Kenu Waan Project merge Polynesian hull design with local sailing systems.

Academic Integration

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been educating students in seafaring and ancestral craft methods at the educational institution.

“For the first time ever this knowledge are taught at master’s level. It goes beyond textbooks – it’s something I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve crossed oceans on these vessels. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness while accomplishing this.”

Pacific Partnerships

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

“From Hawaii to Rapa Nui, from Fiji to here, we’re part of a collective initiative,” he states. “We’re reclaiming the maritime heritage as a community.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure travelled to the French city to present a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he conferred with Macron and government representatives.

Addressing official and international delegates, he advocated for cooperative sea policies based on local practices and local engagement.

“You have to involve them – especially people dependent on marine resources.”

Current Development

Today, when mariners from various island nations – from the Fijian islands, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – come to Lifou, they study canoes collectively, modify the design and eventually voyage together.

“It’s not about duplicating the traditional forms, we help them develop.”

Holistic Approach

In his view, teaching navigation and advocating environmental policy are interrelated.

“It’s all about community participation: who has the right to move across the sea, and who decides what happens in these waters? Heritage boats is a way to begin that dialogue.”