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This past October on Lifou island, a traditional twin-hulled vessel was launched into the lagoon – a simple gesture that signified a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the maiden journey of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in living memory, an event that brought together the island’s main family lineages in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the last eight years, he has spearheaded a program that aims to revive heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been crafted in an initiative intended to reunite native Kanak communities with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure explains the boats also promote the “beginning of dialogue” around sea access rights and conservation measures.

International Advocacy

This past July, he visited France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for marine policies shaped with and by native populations that acknowledge their connection to the ocean.

“Forefathers always navigated the ocean. We forgot that knowledge for a time,” Tikoure explains. “Today we’re reclaiming it again.”

Heritage boats hold profound traditional importance in New Caledonia. They once stood for movement, interaction and clan alliances across islands, but those practices faded under colonial rule and religious conversion efforts.

Heritage Restoration

This mission started in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was considering how to reintroduce traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure partnered with the administration and following a two-year period the canoe construction project – known as Project Kenu Waan – was launched.

“The most difficult aspect was not cutting down trees, it was gaining local support,” he notes.

Initiative Accomplishments

The Kenu Waan project worked to bring back traditional navigation techniques, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to reinforce traditional heritage and island partnerships.

So far, the group has organized a showcase, published a book and facilitated the construction or restoration of nearly three dozen boats – from the southern region to Ponerihouen.

Natural Resources

Different from many other oceanic nations where forest clearing has diminished wood resources, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for carving large hulls.

“In other places, they often use synthetic materials. Here, we can still work with whole trees,” he explains. “It makes a crucial distinction.”

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

Academic Integration

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been instructing maritime travel and heritage building techniques at the educational institution.

“This marks the initial occasion this knowledge are offered at master’s level. It’s not theory – these are experiences I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve navigated major waters on these vessels. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness doing it.”

Pacific Partnerships

He traveled with the team of the traditional boat, the Pacific vessel that journeyed to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, including our location, this represents a unified effort,” he states. “We’re reclaiming the maritime heritage collectively.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure journeyed to the French city to share a “Traditional understanding of the ocean” when he met with Macron and other leaders.

Before state and international delegates, he advocated for cooperative sea policies based on Kanak custom and participation.

“You have to involve these communities – most importantly those who live from fishing.”

Modern Adaptation

Now, when sailors from throughout the region – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – arrive in Lifou, they examine vessels together, modify the design and finally navigate in unison.

“We’re not simply replicating the ancient designs, we help them develop.”

Holistic Approach

According to Tikoure, instructing mariners and promoting conservation measures are linked.

“The core concept concerns community participation: who has the right to navigate marine territories, and who decides what occurs in these waters? The canoe function as a means to begin that dialogue.”