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During the autumn month of October on Lifou island, a traditional twin-hulled vessel was pushed into the turquoise waters – a seemingly minor event that marked a highly meaningful moment.

It was the maiden journey of a heritage boat on Lifou in many decades, an event that united the island’s three chiefly clans in a uncommon display of togetherness.

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

Dozens of canoes have been crafted in an project intended to reunite Indigenous Kanak people with their maritime heritage. Tikoure states the boats also facilitate the “opening of discussions” around sea access rights and conservation measures.

Global Outreach

In July, he journeyed to France and met President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for marine policies created in consultation with and by native populations that honor their relationship with the sea.

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

Canoes hold deep cultural meaning in New Caledonia. They once represented mobility, interaction and clan alliances across islands, but those customs faded under foreign occupation and religious conversion efforts.

Heritage Restoration

The initiative commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was looking at how to bring back ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure partnered with the government and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was born.

“The biggest challenge didn’t involve wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he says.

Project Achievements

The Kenu Waan project sought to revive ancestral sailing methods, educate new craftspeople and use vessel construction to strengthen traditional heritage and island partnerships.

To date, the team has organized a showcase, published a book and supported the construction or restoration of approximately thirty vessels – from the southern region to the northern shoreline.

Resource Benefits

Unlike many other island territories where forest clearing has diminished lumber availability, New Caledonia still has appropriate timber for crafting substantial vessels.

“There, they often work with marine plywood. In our location, we can still work with whole trees,” he says. “It makes a significant advantage.”

The boats constructed under the initiative integrate traditional boat forms with regional navigation methods.

Academic Integration

Starting recently, Tikoure has also been teaching navigation and traditional construction history at the University of New Caledonia.

“For the first time ever these subjects are offered at master’s level. This isn’t academic – it’s something I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve crossed oceans on these vessels. I’ve experienced profound emotion doing it.”

Island Cooperation

He voyaged with the crew of the Uto ni Yalo, the heritage craft that sailed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“From Hawaii to Rapa Nui, including our location, it’s the same movement,” he states. “We’re reclaiming the maritime heritage together.”

Policy Advocacy

During the summer, Tikoure visited Nice, France to share a “Indigenous perspective of the ocean” when he conferred with Macron and additional officials.

Addressing official and foreign officials, he pushed for collaborative ocean management based on local practices and community involvement.

“It’s essential to include these communities – most importantly fishing communities.”

Contemporary Evolution

Today, when sailors from various island nations – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and Aotearoa – arrive in Lifou, they examine vessels in cooperation, refine the construction and ultimately sail side by side.

“It’s not about duplicating the old models, we make them evolve.”

Comprehensive Vision

According to Tikoure, instructing mariners and advocating environmental policy are connected.

“The core concept concerns community participation: who is entitled to travel ocean waters, and who decides which activities take place there? The canoe is a way to begin that dialogue.”