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In October on Lifou, a ancient-style canoe was pushed into the lagoon – a simple gesture that marked a profoundly important moment.

It was the inaugural voyage of a heritage boat on Lifou in many decades, an event that assembled the island’s main family lineages in a rare show of unity.

Seafarer and campaigner Aile Tikoure was instrumental in the launch. For the previous eight-year period, he has led a program that works to resurrect heritage canoe building in New Caledonia.

Numerous traditional boats have been built in an initiative designed to reconnect local Kanak populations with their maritime heritage. Tikoure states the boats also help the “start of conversation” around ocean rights and ecological regulations.

Global Outreach

During the summer month of July, he visited France and conferred with President Emmanuel Macron, advocating for marine policies developed alongside and by local tribes that acknowledge their relationship with the sea.

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

Heritage boats hold significant historical significance in New Caledonia. They once symbolised movement, interaction and tribal partnerships across islands, but those customs declined under foreign occupation and outside cultural pressures.

Heritage Restoration

The initiative started in 2016, when the New Caledonia heritage ministry was exploring how to restore traditional canoe-building skills. Tikoure worked with the authorities and after two years the canoe construction project – known as the Kenu Waan initiative – was established.

“The hardest part wasn’t wood collection, it was gaining local support,” he notes.

Project Achievements

The initiative worked to bring back traditional navigation techniques, educate new craftspeople and use canoe-making to enhance traditional heritage and island partnerships.

To date, the organization has produced an exhibition, released a publication and facilitated the building or renovation of approximately thirty vessels – from Goro to the northern shoreline.

Natural Resources

Unlike many other oceanic nations where tree loss has reduced timber supplies, New Caledonia still has suitable wood for constructing major boats.

“There, they often use modern composites. Locally, we can still work with whole trees,” he explains. “It makes a crucial distinction.”

The vessels constructed under the program integrate traditional boat forms with local sailing systems.

Academic Integration

Beginning this year, Tikoure has also been instructing maritime travel and traditional construction history at the local university.

“This marks the initial occasion these subjects are taught at master’s level. It goes beyond textbooks – this is knowledge I’ve experienced. I’ve navigated major waters on these canoes. I’ve felt overwhelming happiness during these journeys.”

Regional Collaboration

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

“Throughout the region, including our location, this represents a unified effort,” he states. “We’re restoring the sea as a community.”

Policy Advocacy

In July, Tikoure travelled to the European location to introduce a “Kanak vision of the sea” when he met with Macron and additional officials.

In front of government and international delegates, he advocated for shared maritime governance based on Kanak custom and local engagement.

“You have to involve local populations – particularly those who live from fishing.”

Current Development

Now, when navigators from various island nations – from Fiji, the Micronesian region and Aotearoa – come to Lifou, they examine vessels in cooperation, refine the construction and eventually voyage together.

“We don’t just copy the old models, we help them develop.”

Integrated Mission

In his view, teaching navigation and supporting ecological regulations are connected.

“The core concept concerns public engagement: who has the right to travel ocean waters, and what authority governs which activities take place in these waters? Heritage boats serve as a method to begin that dialogue.”