🔗 Share this article

In October on Lifou island, a ancient-style canoe was launched into the coastal lagoon – a small act that marked a deeply symbolic moment.

It was the first launch of a heritage boat on Lifou in living memory, an gathering that united the island’s three chiefly clans in a rare show of unity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the last eight years, he has led a initiative that seeks to restore traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been crafted in an effort intended to reunite local Kanak populations with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure says the boats also facilitate the “beginning of dialogue” around maritime entitlements and conservation measures.

Global Outreach

This past July, he journeyed to France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, pushing for ocean governance shaped with and by native populations that recognise their maritime heritage.

“Our ancestors always navigated the ocean. We forgot that knowledge for a period,” Tikoure says. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Traditional vessels hold profound traditional importance in New Caledonia. They once represented movement, interaction and family cooperations across islands, but those customs declined under colonial rule and missionary influences.

Cultural Reclamation

His journey started in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was considering how to bring back traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure partnered with the administration and two years later the boat building initiative – known as Project Kenu Waan – was launched.

“The hardest part didn’t involve cutting down trees, it was persuading communities,” he explains.

Initiative Accomplishments

The program worked to bring back ancestral sailing methods, train young builders and use boat-building to reinforce traditional heritage and island partnerships.

So far, the team has organized a showcase, issued a volume and facilitated the creation or repair of around 30 canoes – from the far south to the northeastern coast.

Resource Benefits

Unlike many other oceanic nations where deforestation has limited wood resources, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for carving large hulls.

“There, they often use modern composites. Here, we can still work with whole trees,” he explains. “It makes all the difference.”

The vessels constructed under the program merge oceanic vessel shapes with regional navigation methods.

Educational Expansion

Starting recently, Tikoure has also been educating students in navigation and ancestral craft methods at the educational institution.

“It’s the first time this knowledge are included at advanced education. This isn’t academic – this is knowledge I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve crossed oceans on traditional boats. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness while accomplishing this.”

Pacific Partnerships

He traveled with the team of the Uto ni Yalo, the heritage craft that traveled to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“From Hawaii to Rapa Nui, including our location, this represents a unified effort,” he explains. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage collectively.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure travelled to Nice, France to share a “Indigenous perspective of the ocean” when he had discussions with Macron and other leaders.

Addressing official and international delegates, he argued for cooperative sea policies based on local practices and community involvement.

“We must engage local populations – particularly people dependent on marine resources.”

Contemporary Evolution

Today, when sailors from throughout the region – from the Fijian islands, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – come to Lifou, they study canoes together, refine the construction and finally navigate in unison.

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

Comprehensive Vision

For Tikoure, instructing mariners and advocating environmental policy are connected.

“The core concept concerns community participation: who is entitled to travel ocean waters, and who determines what occurs in these waters? Heritage boats serve as a method to begin that dialogue.”