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This past October on the island of Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was set afloat in the coastal lagoon – a simple gesture that represented a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a heritage boat on Lifou in many decades, an event that brought together the island’s primary tribal groups in a exceptional demonstration of solidarity.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was the driving force behind the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has overseen a program that aims to revive heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Many heritage vessels have been constructed in an project intended to reunite native Kanak communities with their oceanic traditions. Tikoure says the boats also promote the “opening of discussions” around maritime entitlements and environmental policies.

Global Outreach

This past July, he journeyed to France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for marine policies shaped with and by local tribes that honor their maritime heritage.

“Our ancestors always navigated the ocean. We forgot that knowledge for a while,” Tikoure explains. “Currently we’re rediscovering it again.”

Canoes hold profound traditional significance in New Caledonia. They once represented mobility, exchange and clan alliances across islands, but those customs faded under colonisation and missionary influences.

Heritage Restoration

His journey began in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was considering how to reintroduce traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure collaborated with the administration and two years later the vessel restoration program – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was established.

“The hardest part was not cutting down trees, it was persuading communities,” he explains.

Initiative Accomplishments

The program aimed to restore ancestral sailing methods, educate new craftspeople and use vessel construction to enhance traditional heritage and regional collaboration.

Up to now, the organization has created a display, released a publication and supported the construction or restoration of approximately thirty vessels – from the southern region to the northeastern coast.

Material Advantages

Unlike many other Pacific islands where tree loss has reduced wood resources, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for constructing major boats.

“Elsewhere, they often work with synthetic materials. Here, we can still carve solid logs,” he explains. “This creates a crucial distinction.”

The canoes constructed under the Kenu Waan Project integrate Polynesian hull design with local sailing systems.

Educational Expansion

Starting recently, Tikoure has also been teaching seafaring and heritage building techniques at the educational institution.

“For the first time ever this knowledge are taught at advanced education. It’s not theory – this is knowledge I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve sailed vast distances on these vessels. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness while accomplishing this.”

Pacific Partnerships

He traveled with the members of the Fijian vessel, the Pacific vessel that journeyed to Tonga for the oceanic conference in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, through various islands, we’re part of a collective initiative,” he says. “We’re taking back the ocean together.”

Political Engagement

This past July, Tikoure journeyed to the French city to share a “Indigenous perspective of the marine environment” when he had discussions with Macron and additional officials.

In front of government and foreign officials, he pushed for collaborative ocean management based on Kanak custom and community involvement.

“It’s essential to include local populations – especially people dependent on marine resources.”

Modern Adaptation

Now, when mariners from across the Pacific – from Fiji, Micronesia and New Zealand – arrive in Lifou, they analyze boats in cooperation, refine the construction and eventually navigate in unison.

“We’re not simply replicating the old models, we help them develop.”

Holistic Approach

In his view, instructing mariners and supporting ecological regulations are connected.

“It’s all about how we involve people: what permissions exist to travel ocean waters, and what authority governs what happens there? The canoe serve as a method to initiate that discussion.”