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In October on Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was launched into the turquoise waters – a simple gesture that marked a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the first launch of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in living memory, an occasion that united the island’s three chiefly clans in a uncommon display of togetherness.

Mariner and advocate Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the last eight years, he has spearheaded a program that seeks to restore traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been built in an project intended to reunite local Kanak populations with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure states the boats also help the “start of conversation” around sea access rights and environmental policies.

Diplomatic Efforts

During the summer month of July, he visited France and met President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for marine policies shaped with and by Indigenous communities that acknowledge their relationship with the sea.

“Forefathers always crossed the sea. We abandoned that practice for a period,” Tikoure says. “Today we’re reclaiming it again.”

Canoes hold significant historical importance in New Caledonia. They once symbolised mobility, interaction and tribal partnerships across islands, but those traditions diminished under foreign occupation and missionary influences.

Heritage Restoration

This mission commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was considering how to bring back traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure worked with the authorities and following a two-year period the vessel restoration program – known as Project Kenu Waan – was established.

“The hardest part was not wood collection, it was convincing people,” he notes.

Project Achievements

The initiative aimed to restore traditional navigation techniques, mentor apprentice constructors and use vessel construction to enhance cultural identity and inter-island cooperation.

Up to now, the organization has created a display, issued a volume and enabled the building or renovation of nearly three dozen boats – from the southern region to the northern shoreline.

Resource Benefits

In contrast to many other oceanic nations where deforestation has limited wood resources, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for carving large hulls.

“Elsewhere, they often employ modern composites. Here, we can still carve solid logs,” he explains. “This creates a crucial distinction.”

The boats created under the Kenu Waan Project merge Polynesian hull design with Melanesian rigging.

Academic Integration

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been instructing seafaring and traditional construction history at the local university.

“For the first time ever these topics are included at master’s level. This isn’t academic – this is knowledge I’ve experienced. I’ve sailed vast distances on these canoes. I’ve experienced profound emotion while accomplishing this.”

Island Cooperation

Tikoure sailed with the team of the traditional boat, the Fijian canoe that journeyed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“From Hawaii to Rapa Nui, through various islands, it’s the same movement,” he explains. “We’re taking back the ocean as a community.”

Political Engagement

During the summer, Tikoure travelled to the French city to introduce a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he met with Macron and other leaders.

Addressing official and overseas representatives, he argued for collaborative ocean management based on Kanak custom and local engagement.

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

Modern Adaptation

Today, when mariners from various island nations – from the Fijian islands, the Micronesian region and New Zealand – visit Lifou, they study canoes collectively, refine the construction and finally sail side by side.

“It’s not about duplicating the old models, we enable their progression.”

Holistic Approach

For Tikoure, educating sailors and promoting conservation measures are connected.

“The core concept concerns community participation: who is entitled to travel ocean waters, and who determines what happens on it? The canoe is a way to start that conversation.”