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This past October on Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was launched into the turquoise waters – a simple gesture that marked a profoundly important moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in many decades, an occasion that united the island’s main family lineages in a exceptional demonstration of solidarity.

Activist and sailor Aile Tikoure was instrumental in the launch. For the past eight years, he has overseen a program that aims to revive traditional boat making in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been constructed in an initiative designed to reconnect Indigenous Kanak people with their maritime heritage. Tikoure states the boats also promote the “beginning of dialogue” around maritime entitlements and ecological regulations.

Global Outreach

During the summer month of July, he visited France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for maritime regulations created in consultation with and by Indigenous communities that recognise their relationship with the sea.

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

Heritage boats hold deep cultural meaning in New Caledonia. They once represented mobility, trade and tribal partnerships across islands, but those customs faded under colonisation and missionary influences.

Tradition Revival

The initiative commenced in 2016, when the New Caledonia government’s culture department was looking at how to reintroduce ancestral boat-making techniques. Tikoure partnered with the administration and after two years the vessel restoration program – known as Project Kenu Waan – was established.

“The biggest challenge didn’t involve harvesting timber, it was convincing people,” he explains.

Initiative Accomplishments

The Kenu Waan project worked to bring back heritage voyaging practices, train young builders and use vessel construction to reinforce community pride and inter-island cooperation.

To date, the organization has organized a showcase, released a publication and supported the building or renovation of approximately thirty vessels – from the far south to Ponerihouen.

Resource Benefits

Unlike many other oceanic nations where deforestation has reduced timber supplies, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for carving large hulls.

“Elsewhere, they often employ synthetic materials. Locally, we can still craft from natural timber,” he says. “That represents all the difference.”

The canoes created under the program integrate oceanic vessel shapes with local sailing systems.

Teaching Development

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

“It’s the first time this knowledge are taught at master’s level. It goes beyond textbooks – it’s something I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve navigated major waters on traditional boats. I’ve cried tears of joy doing it.”

Regional Collaboration

He traveled with the team of the traditional boat, the Fijian canoe that journeyed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“Throughout the region, through various islands, it’s the same movement,” he says. “We’re restoring the maritime heritage together.”

Political Engagement

This past July, Tikoure journeyed to the French city to introduce a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he had discussions with Macron and additional officials.

In front of government and overseas representatives, he advocated for collaborative ocean management based on local practices and participation.

“We must engage them – most importantly fishing communities.”

Current Development

Now, when sailors from various island nations – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and New Zealand – come to Lifou, they analyze boats in cooperation, refine the construction and finally voyage together.

“We’re not simply replicating the ancient designs, we enable their progression.”

Integrated Mission

In his view, teaching navigation and promoting conservation measures are connected.

“The fundamental issue involves community participation: who has the right to move across the sea, and what authority governs what occurs in these waters? Traditional vessels serve as a method to initiate that discussion.”