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

It was the maiden journey of a ancestral vessel on Lifou in living memory, an event that assembled the island’s main family lineages in a exceptional demonstration of solidarity.

Mariner and advocate Aile Tikoure was behind the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has led a initiative that aims to revive heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Dozens of canoes have been constructed in an effort intended to reunite native Kanak communities with their seafaring legacy. Tikoure states the boats also promote the “start of conversation” around ocean rights and ecological regulations.

International Advocacy

During the summer month of July, he travelled to France and had discussions with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for maritime regulations developed alongside and by local tribes that acknowledge their relationship with the sea.

“Previous generations always crossed the sea. We abandoned that practice for a while,” Tikoure explains. “Now we’re finding it again.”

Traditional vessels hold significant historical importance in New Caledonia. They once stood for travel, interaction and clan alliances across islands, but those customs diminished under colonisation and missionary influences.

Cultural Reclamation

His journey began in 2016, when the New Caledonia cultural authorities was looking at how to bring back heritage vessel construction methods. Tikoure worked with the authorities and after two years the vessel restoration program – known as Project Kenu Waan – was born.

“The most difficult aspect didn’t involve wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he notes.

Project Achievements

The Kenu Waan project worked to bring back traditional navigation techniques, educate new craftspeople and use vessel construction to strengthen community pride and inter-island cooperation.

Up to now, the group has produced an exhibition, published a book and facilitated the construction or restoration of approximately thirty vessels – from the southern region to the northeastern coast.

Resource Benefits

In contrast to many other island territories where tree loss has reduced timber supplies, New Caledonia still has proper lumber for constructing major boats.

“There, they often work with synthetic materials. In our location, we can still carve solid logs,” he explains. “It makes a crucial distinction.”

The boats created under the Kenu Waan Project merge traditional boat forms with Melanesian rigging.

Teaching Development

Starting recently, Tikoure has also been educating students in maritime travel and heritage building techniques at the educational institution.

“For the first time ever these subjects are taught at advanced education. This isn’t academic – it’s something I’ve personally undertaken. I’ve navigated major waters on these vessels. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness doing it.”

Island Cooperation

He voyaged with the members of the traditional boat, the heritage craft that journeyed to Tonga for the regional gathering in 2024.

“Across the Pacific, from Fiji to here, we’re part of a collective initiative,” he says. “We’re restoring the sea as a community.”

Policy Advocacy

During the summer, Tikoure visited the European location to present a “Indigenous perspective of the ocean” when he met with Macron and government representatives.

Before state and overseas representatives, he argued for collaborative ocean management based on Indigenous traditions and community involvement.

“You have to involve these communities – particularly those who live from fishing.”

Modern Adaptation

Today, when navigators from across the Pacific – from the Fijian islands, Micronesia and New Zealand – visit Lifou, they study canoes together, adjust the structure and ultimately voyage together.

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

Holistic Approach

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

“It’s all about community participation: what permissions exist to navigate marine territories, and who determines which activities take place in these waters? The canoe is a way to begin that dialogue.”