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This past October on the island of Lifou, a double-hulled canoe was pushed into the turquoise waters – a simple gesture that represented a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the first launch of a traditional canoe on Lifou in many decades, an event that united the island’s three chiefly clans in a rare show of unity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has led a initiative that works to resurrect heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been built in an project intended to reunite native Kanak communities with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure says the boats also facilitate the “start of conversation” around ocean rights and ecological regulations.

Global Outreach

During the summer month of July, he travelled to France and met President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for marine policies shaped with and by local tribes that recognise their connection to the ocean.

“Forefathers always navigated the ocean. We abandoned that practice for a time,” Tikoure explains. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Heritage boats hold deep cultural meaning in New Caledonia. They once stood for movement, exchange and clan alliances across islands, but those customs faded under foreign occupation and religious conversion efforts.

Tradition Revival

This mission began in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was considering how to restore ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure partnered with the administration and after two years the canoe construction project – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was born.

“The biggest challenge was not wood collection, it was persuading communities,” he explains.

Initiative Accomplishments

The Kenu Waan project aimed to restore ancestral sailing methods, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to strengthen community pride and regional collaboration.

Up to now, the group has produced an exhibition, released a publication and enabled the construction or restoration of nearly three dozen boats – from the southern region to the northeastern coast.

Natural Resources

Unlike many other Pacific islands where deforestation has diminished timber supplies, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for carving large hulls.

“There, they often employ modern composites. Here, we can still craft from natural timber,” he explains. “That represents a crucial distinction.”

The canoes created under the program integrate traditional boat forms with Melanesian rigging.

Academic Integration

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been instructing maritime travel and traditional construction history at the University of New Caledonia.

“For the first time ever these topics are offered at advanced education. It’s not theory – it’s something I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve navigated major waters on these vessels. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness during these journeys.”

Island Cooperation

Tikoure sailed with the members of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that sailed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, including our location, this represents a unified effort,” he explains. “We’re restoring the sea together.”

Governance Efforts

In July, Tikoure visited the French city to introduce a “Traditional understanding of the ocean” when he conferred with Macron and other leaders.

Addressing official and foreign officials, he advocated for cooperative sea policies based on Indigenous traditions and community involvement.

“You have to involve local populations – most importantly fishing communities.”

Current Development

Today, when mariners from various island nations – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and New Zealand – come to Lifou, they examine vessels in cooperation, refine the construction and eventually sail side by side.

“We’re not simply replicating the traditional forms, we make them evolve.”

Comprehensive Vision

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

“The fundamental issue involves community participation: who has the right to navigate marine territories, and who determines what occurs in these waters? The canoe serve as a method to start that conversation.”