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This past October on Lifou, a double-hulled canoe was launched into the lagoon – a seemingly minor event that represented a highly meaningful moment.

It was the maiden journey of a heritage boat on Lifou in living memory, an event that united the island’s primary tribal groups in a exceptional demonstration of solidarity.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the past eight years, he has led a project that aims to revive traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been built in an effort aimed at reconnecting Indigenous Kanak people with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure explains the boats also help the “beginning of dialogue” around sea access rights and conservation measures.

Diplomatic Efforts

In July, he visited France and met President Emmanuel Macron, calling for maritime regulations developed alongside and by local tribes that recognise their connection to the ocean.

“Previous generations always navigated the ocean. We lost that for a time,” Tikoure explains. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Canoes hold significant historical significance in New Caledonia. They once stood for mobility, trade and tribal partnerships across islands, but those practices declined under colonisation and missionary influences.

Tradition Revival

This mission began in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was looking at how to reintroduce ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure partnered with the government and two years later the boat building initiative – known as Kenu Waan project – was launched.

“The biggest challenge wasn’t wood collection, it was convincing people,” he notes.

Project Achievements

The program sought to revive heritage voyaging practices, educate new craftspeople and use boat-building to reinforce traditional heritage and regional collaboration.

So far, the group has produced an exhibition, released a publication and facilitated the building or renovation of around 30 canoes – from the southern region to the northern shoreline.

Resource Benefits

Different from many other oceanic nations where forest clearing has diminished lumber availability, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for constructing major boats.

“There, they often use synthetic materials. In our location, we can still work with whole trees,” he says. “That represents all the difference.”

The boats built under the initiative combine Polynesian hull design with regional navigation methods.

Educational Expansion

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

“It’s the first time this knowledge are included at graduate studies. It goes beyond textbooks – it’s something I’ve lived. I’ve sailed vast distances on these canoes. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness while accomplishing this.”

Island Cooperation

He traveled with the members of the Uto ni Yalo, the heritage craft that sailed to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, through various islands, we’re part of a collective initiative,” he states. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage together.”

Political Engagement

This past July, Tikoure journeyed to Nice, France to share a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he conferred with Macron and government representatives.

Before state and international delegates, he advocated for collaborative ocean management based on local practices and local engagement.

“It’s essential to include local populations – especially fishing communities.”

Contemporary Evolution

Today, when mariners from across the Pacific – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and Aotearoa – visit Lifou, they analyze boats in cooperation, adjust the structure and eventually sail side by side.

“We’re not simply replicating the ancient designs, we make them evolve.”

Integrated Mission

For Tikoure, educating sailors and advocating environmental policy are interrelated.

“The core concept concerns how we involve people: what permissions exist to move across the sea, and what authority governs which activities take place in these waters? Heritage boats is a way to begin that dialogue.”