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In October on the island of Lifou, a traditional twin-hulled vessel was launched into the coastal lagoon – a seemingly minor event that represented a highly meaningful moment.

It was the first launch of a traditional canoe on Lifou in many decades, an gathering that assembled the island’s three chiefly clans in a uncommon display of togetherness.

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

Numerous traditional boats have been constructed in an project intended to reunite local Kanak populations with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure states the boats also facilitate the “beginning of dialogue” around sea access rights and ecological regulations.

Global Outreach

This past July, he visited France and met President Emmanuel Macron, calling for maritime regulations developed alongside and by Indigenous communities that honor their relationship with the sea.

“Previous generations always crossed the sea. We abandoned that practice for a while,” Tikoure says. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Heritage boats hold profound traditional importance in New Caledonia. They once represented movement, interaction and tribal partnerships across islands, but those traditions declined under colonial rule and outside cultural pressures.

Heritage Restoration

This mission commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was looking at how to bring back heritage vessel construction methods. Tikoure partnered with the authorities and following a two-year period the vessel restoration program – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was born.

“The most difficult aspect didn’t involve cutting down trees, it was gaining local support,” he says.

Initiative Accomplishments

The initiative worked to bring back heritage voyaging practices, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to enhance community pride and island partnerships.

To date, the group has produced an exhibition, published a book and facilitated the building or renovation of around 30 canoes – from the southern region to Ponerihouen.

Resource Benefits

Different from many other island territories where forest clearing has limited timber supplies, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for constructing major boats.

“In other places, they often use marine plywood. Locally, we can still carve solid logs,” he says. “That represents a crucial distinction.”

The vessels built under the program merge Polynesian hull design with Melanesian rigging.

Educational Expansion

Since 2024, Tikoure has also been educating students in seafaring and traditional construction history at the educational institution.

“For the first time ever these subjects are included at advanced education. This isn’t academic – this is knowledge I’ve lived. I’ve sailed vast distances on these canoes. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness while accomplishing this.”

Island Cooperation

Tikoure sailed with the crew of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that sailed to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, through various islands, it’s the same movement,” he states. “We’re restoring the sea as a community.”

Policy Advocacy

During the summer, Tikoure travelled to the French city to share a “Indigenous perspective of the sea” when he conferred with Macron and additional officials.

In front of government and overseas representatives, he argued for shared maritime governance based on Indigenous traditions and local engagement.

“It’s essential to include local populations – particularly those who live from fishing.”

Modern Adaptation

Currently, when mariners from across the Pacific – from the Fijian islands, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – visit Lifou, they examine vessels together, modify the design and ultimately navigate in unison.

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

Comprehensive Vision

In his view, educating sailors and supporting ecological regulations are connected.

“The core concept concerns how we involve people: who is entitled to move across the sea, and what authority governs which activities take place on it? The canoe is a way to begin that dialogue.”