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During the autumn month of October on Lifou island, a ancient-style canoe was launched into the lagoon – a seemingly minor event that signified a highly meaningful moment.

It was the maiden journey of a traditional canoe on Lifou in living memory, an gathering that assembled the island’s main family lineages in a rare show of unity.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the past eight years, he has led a program that seeks to restore ancestral vessel construction in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been built in an initiative designed to reconnect native Kanak communities with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure explains the boats also facilitate the “opening of discussions” around maritime entitlements and ecological regulations.

Global Outreach

This past July, he travelled to France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, calling for maritime regulations shaped with and by native populations that acknowledge their maritime heritage.

“Previous generations always traveled by water. We abandoned that practice for a while,” Tikoure states. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Traditional vessels hold significant historical importance in New Caledonia. They once represented travel, interaction and clan alliances across islands, but those customs faded under colonisation and outside cultural pressures.

Cultural Reclamation

His journey started in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was considering how to restore ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure partnered with the administration and after two years the boat building initiative – known as Kenu Waan project – was launched.

“The most difficult aspect wasn’t cutting down trees, it was convincing people,” he notes.

Project Achievements

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

So far, the group has organized a showcase, published a book and supported the building or renovation of around 30 canoes – from the far south to the northeastern coast.

Resource Benefits

Different from many other island territories where tree loss has reduced timber supplies, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for constructing major boats.

“In other places, they often employ marine plywood. Here, we can still carve solid logs,” he explains. “This creates a significant advantage.”

The canoes constructed under the Kenu Waan Project integrate traditional boat forms with local sailing systems.

Teaching Development

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been teaching seafaring and heritage building techniques at the University of New Caledonia.

“This marks the initial occasion these subjects are offered at advanced education. It’s not theory – it’s something I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve sailed vast distances on these canoes. I’ve experienced profound emotion during these journeys.”

Island Cooperation

He traveled with the crew of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that traveled to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“Throughout the region, through various islands, this represents a unified effort,” he says. “We’re reclaiming the ocean as a community.”

Governance Efforts

During the summer, Tikoure travelled to the French city to present a “Traditional understanding of the marine environment” when he met with Macron and government representatives.

In front of government and international delegates, he pushed for shared maritime governance based on Indigenous traditions and community involvement.

“We must engage these communities – especially people dependent on marine resources.”

Current Development

Currently, when navigators from throughout the region – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and Aotearoa – visit Lifou, they study canoes collectively, refine the construction and eventually sail side by side.

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

Integrated Mission

In his view, teaching navigation and supporting ecological regulations are linked.

“The core concept concerns how we involve people: who is entitled to travel ocean waters, and who determines what happens there? Heritage boats is a way to begin that dialogue.”